Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:acknowledges that the construction sector and the housing market were profoundly affected by the economic downturn, consequently creating a significant shortfall in both market and social housing supply;

welcomes the economic recovery and increase in job creation underway for a number of years, consequent on the Government’s successful economic policies;

notes in particular that one of the implications of that recovery and growth in employment has been a resurgent demand for housing;

acknowledges the pent-up demand for social housing as demonstrated by the approximately 90,000 households on the social housing waiting list at the last full and comprehensive assessment in 2013;

recognises that the Government’s on-going programme of economic repair is accompanied by an equal emphasis on social recovery;

notes, in that context, the continued high priority which the Government places on increasing the supply of housing for both home purchasers and renters, including through its Construction 2020 Strategy, and the Social Housing Strategy 2020;

welcomes the measures introduced by the Government to stimulate, in the medium to long term, the sustainable supply of housing through the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 including amendments to the Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 social housing provisions; the introduction of a vacant site levy; and revised arrangements relating to the application of reduced development contributions;

notes the Housing Agency analysis indicates that, as a general guide for households on a moderate income, housing would be considered affordable where housing cost is below 35% of the household income;

recognises the increased and ongoing role played by the private rental sector in Ireland which has doubled from 10% to 20% of households in less than a decade;

welcomes the decisive action taken by the Government to stabilise rents and further boost housing supply in the short-term, by providing for

— rent certainty, by increasing the rent review period from one to two years; increased notice periods for rent reviews and much greater protections for tenants;

— a targeted development contribution rebate scheme in Dublin and Cork, focussed on large scale developments at affordable prices;

— fast-tracking of implementation of new apartment guidelines which will support good quality build, while improving the viability of this type of development; and

— legislative amendments to introduce greater flexibility and streamlining to the Strategic Development Zones provision of the Planning and Development Acts;

acknowledges, in respect of homelessness, that the solution is multi-faceted, and in that context welcomes the whole-of-Government approach to dealing with the complexity of the situation, involving all key State agencies concerned, including the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government; Social Protection; Health; Children and Youth Affairs; the Health Service Executive; Tusla (the Child and Family Agency); the Irish Prison Service; and local authorities, and in that context:

— welcomes:

— the increase in funding for homeless services to €70 million, announced in Budget 2016, which will ensure continued progress towards the achievement of the end of 2016 target of ending involuntary long-term homelessness and the need to sleep rough;

— with regard to the Homeless Housing Assistance Payment Pilot, the increase in flexibility in relation to rent limits from 20% above rent supplement levels to 50% above rent supplement levels announced in Budget 2016, which will be of significant assistance to homeless families in Dublin moving out of emergency accommodation into longer term housing; and

— the initiative to deliver 500 units of modular housing for homeless families across Dublin, the first 150 units of which will be delivered as quickly as possible in the Dublin City Council area, with the objective of delivering 22 units by the end of 2015;

notes:

— the excellent work being done through the Tenancy Sustainment Protocol operating in conjunction with Threshold in Dublin and Cork, and of the 4,900 total cases supported with increased rent limits to date, over 1,500 were initiated following engagement under this protocol; and

— the important role undertaken by non-governmental organisations working with homeless persons and seeks their continued engagement with Government Departments and agencies in tackling the situation;

recognises the Government’s commitment to the provision of social housing, by providing a comprehensive response under the Social Housing Strategy 2020, which targets the provision of over 110,000 social housing units to 2020, and in that context welcomes:

— the approval, in 2015, of almost half a billion euro worth of local authority and approved housing body proposals for the construction and acquisition of over 2,900 housing units, to be delivered out to 2017;

— the continued close monitoring of social housing supply delivery in 2015 with a view to optimum delivery across the suite of programmes;

— the accelerated progress being made in returning vacant local authority properties to use for households on the waiting list, with 2,500 units targeted for delivery in 2015;

— the continued prioritisation of funding for social housing in Budget 2016, resulting in an Exchequer investment of almost €811 million across a range of housing programmes, as well as local authorities funding a range of housing services from their own resources to the value of over €112 million, bringing the total social housing provision in 2016 to €923 million;

— the commitment of €2.9 billion in capital funding for housing out to 2021 under the Government’s capital plan;

— the public private partnership programme, announced in Budget 2016, which will deliver 500 social housing units in the greater Dublin area;

— the €10 million being made available from the proceeds of the sale of Bord Gáis Éireann for an affordable rental pilot scheme;

— the roll-out of the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme to all categories of households in 18 local authority areas, with over 4,500 households now in receipt of the payment; and

— the commitment to undertake a summary of social housing assessments on an annual basis from 2016 onwards, to ensure up-to-date and comprehensive data on housing need is available on an on-going basis;

notes, with respect to the National Asset Management Agency that:

— the Government has enabled and facilitated NAMA in playing an important role in the delivery of housing supply generally and social housing in particular;

— this work has to be carried out in a manner consistent with the legislation governing the operation of NAMA;

— 1,600 houses and apartments have been delivered to local authorities and approved housing bodies for social housing use, with NAMA investing over €40 million to make properties ready for social housing;

— the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Housing Agency, local authorities and approved housing bodies continue to work closely with NAMA to ensure that its commitments on social housing are delivered;

— as indicated in Budget 2016, in line with the National Asset Management Agency Act 2009, NAMA is aiming to fund the delivery of 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020, of which it is estimated that 90% will be in the greater Dublin area and that about 75% of the units will be houses, mainly starter houses;

— NAMA is committed to and is firmly on track to deliver 4,500 new residential units in the greater Dublin area by the end of 2016; and

— further, in 2014 NAMA funded more than 40% of total new housing output across the four Dublin local authorities; and

welcomes the broad strategy the Government has put in place to address the issue of mortgage arrears, including an extensive suite of interventions, such as the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, recasting of the personal insolvency legislation, the provision of advice through the Department of Social Protection-led initiatives, and the mortgage-to-rent scheme which is designed to assist borrowers in unsustainable mortgage positions to remain in their homes through the involvement of approved housing bodies.

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