Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It is obvious from the empty Chamber tonight that the Government does not view the current housing crisis as the emergency those of us on this side deem it to be. If one asked people to identify their two most basic needs, their response would be food and shelter. For a sizeable proportion of our population, one of those basic needs, namely, shelter, is precarious to say the least.

I support the call for the declaration of a housing emergency because that is what it is and anybody who has been meeting people for the last few years would know that. What is outrageous is that this emergency could have been foreseen. Regardless of the solution, there will be a cost in monetary terms. What has happened in this regard to date has only resulted in more stress and anxiety for families, many of whom cannot believe that they find themselves in this position. The chosen method of resolution, which is straight out of the Thatcher play book, is a market solution despite the fact there is no evidence that the market will deliver the solution.

When challenged on numerous occasions over the past few years on the adequacy of rent supplement, the Tánaiste continually replied that it was a supply-side issue, as though supply was going to increase outside of a Government response, while at the same time, the supply of housing was diminishing. Ironically, something as vital as housing has been the responsibility of a Minister of State rather than a Minister. Housing and communities require a dedicated Minister. Perhaps the ideology of the market solution, which has clearly failed, is getting in the way of that.

Between 2012 and 2013, it became apparent that there was a new category of people becoming homeless, as brought to our attention in January 2013 by the many homeless charities that appeared before an Oireachtas committee. This category is made up of functioning families who have been made homeless for no other reason than their inability to meet increasing rent costs. At the same time, the supply side referred to by the Tánaiste was going backwards. We then had the announcement of the €3.7 billion to be spent on social housing. However, when one drills down into that, the majority of the houses are to be delivered through the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme. Again, a reliance on the market. The HAP scheme is wholly dependent on the private sector to build and lease housing. This will not be a once-off payment. Rather it is a payment that will recur each year and each decade. For the scheme to be successful, there will have to be sufficient private sector supply and sufficient landlords willing to participate in it. The scheme is currently being commenced in Kildare.

In the case of people at risk of becoming homeless, it is permissible to exceed the cap by 20%. I challenge anybody to find a house in respect of which the current rent supplement meets the cost of the rent, even with the additional 20%. I would be surprised if even one such house could be found. The cap, and the cap plus the 20% by which it can be exceeded, are below market rents in the area. For the past year, it has been possible to negotiate with the rents unit in relation to increases above what is proposed in these cases. I predict that, unfortunately, there will be a whole raft of new people becoming homeless in the new year.

Nationally, 40% of those at work are earning less than €12 per hour. We have precarious employment circumstances with zero and low-hour contracts. Unless this changes significantly, the prospect of people being in a position to buy a house is diminished. The solution is to build houses of the quantity required. Other than that, we will be overwhelmed by this crisis, which is what the charities are currently saying.

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