Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government has rightly prioritised the recovery of the economy and increasing employment. The economy is now the fastest growing in Europe, with growth of 5.2% GDP seen in 2014 set to be outdone this year by growth of over 6%. This fast growth, taken together with unemployment now being below 9% for the first time since 2008, is a phenomenal achievement, and one of which I and my party are proud to have been a part.

However, it is economic growth that drives demand in housing. If we cast our minds back to 2011, rents and property values were falling, with acres of ghost estates and our young people fleeing our country in droves. We now live in a different Ireland and our housing sector, both public and private, is still catching up with the new demand. Even during the Celtic tiger years, the housing sector lagged the economy by about two to three years, the typical international experience. The houses will be built. The social housing aspect is being worked on but it takes time. In that vein and to speed up delivery, I will be reviewing the approval procedures for social housing projects in the Department.

In terms of access to housing, the simple fact is that we do not have enough housing units in the right locations. The complete collapse of construction activity during the crash has still not recovered and, as a result, housing remains the one sector of our society that has not yet repaired. For example, in Dublin, where the problems are most acute, we have a projected unit completion of private housing of 2,700 units, when the supply requirement is between 7,000 to 8,000 units. These problems in the housing sector, the lack of supply, rising rents, the problems with people falling out of the private rented market and into homelessness are all directly related to the collapse of the economy which happened under the previous Administration.

I am working to resolve those problems. This issue is, and will continue to be, my absolute top priority. It is worth reflecting on the Government’s vision for housing in Ireland as outlined in the €4 billion social housing strategy. Every household will have access to secure, good quality housing suited to their needs at an affordable price in a sustainable community and the State, for its part, will put in place financially sustainable mechanisms to meet current and future demand for social housing supports, ensuring value for money for taxpayers while respecting the preferences of individual households to the greatest extent possible.

I am sure everyone in this House agrees that this is where the housing sector in Ireland needs to go. Anyone with any notion of the sector also knows that we have a long road to travel, in particular, given the lack of supply in the housing market in cities for a number of years.

In responding to the motion I will outline the Government's comprehensive policies, strategies and action plans to deal with the issue of housing. I will also outline how the strategies have been backed up with a funding commitment of €1.7 billion in successive budgets, a €2.9 billion capital commitment to 2021 and an overall commitment to deliver the social housing strategy by 2020 at a total cost of €4 billion. The action taken and the funding committed clearly demonstrates my absolute and unwavering commitment and that of the Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey, and the Government to tackling the housing challenge and delivering on that vision for all of Ireland's people. In plotting the response to the housing issue we need to learn from the past. We cannot go back to the boom-bust cycle that beset the property and construction sector under Fianna Fáil and ended in complete disaster not just for the construction industry but also for the entire country and generations of people to come. We cannot go back to the days of an artificial and unsustainable property bubble which led to the problems in the residential market today and with which we are dealing.

The Labour Party, the Government and I are committed to getting things right. Overall, a lack of supply lies at the heart of the housing problems we are facing as a country, as everyone knows. The lack of supply cuts across social housing and the private housing market and has had a significant impact on the private rented sector which has doubled in size in a decade. The Government's approach is comprehensive in dealing with each of the housing market segments and at all times concentrated on meeting the vision for housing for everyone.

The nature of housing provision means that the increased supply will not be delivered immediately as construction projects take time. We all have to accept this fact. Therefore, strategies and interventions must be tailored to meet the most urgent, immediate, short to medium and long-term goals and their requirements. Of course, the Deputies opposite are going to wave a magic wand and will build all the houses required instantly, without the requirement for additional architects, quantity surveyors, planners and other housing personnel. While the Government allocated more than 300 additional staff to local authorities, how much did the moralistic Deputies opposite allocate as part of their budgetary proposals to speed up delivery?

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