Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The issue of housing, which we are discussing in the context of this motion, is an important one because if people do not have shelter everything else falls apart. Without the security of a home people cannot get a job or access social welfare payments and their health and so on deteriorates. According to the housing sector agencies, particularly those that work with homeless people, the situation is worsening as we approach Christmas. It is not that there are not houses available that could be brought into use. Some local authorities have made good progress in terms of bringing voids back into use. In this regard, I point to County Laois where in terms of housing stock there are never more than four or five houses empty at any one time. The situation in other parts of the country is not as good.

Many vacant houses which are under the control of NAMA and the banks we bailed out lie idle while people are homeless, which is evident in many of the doorways only a short distance from here. We need to bring those houses into use. To do this, the process in that regard needs to be short circuited. We need to address this problem head-on. While I acknowledge that up to now the Government has been restricted in terms of what it could do in this area owing to the appalling state of the country's finances at the time it came into office, which it inherited from the previous Administration, it is now 2015 and we need to move on from that.

I would like to address the myth that there is a bias in regard to social housing. The budget of Laois County Council was recently agreed. Rental income for the forthcoming year is projected to be approximately €5 million. The cost of repair and maintenance of social housing in Laois is estimated to be approximately €900,000. I acknowledge that there are other payments to be met, including capital costs and so on. I am not suggesting this is a shining example but it shows that social housing is not a black hole financially. Financial considerations should not be our biggest consideration because, as I stated in my opening remarks, the most important issue in this regard is human well-being. We must ensure our people are properly looked after. To do this, we need to put human need before profit. We need to get our heads straight in this regard. For far too long the market and profit have dominated everything.

The previous Government provided for the sale by developers of a proportion of private sector housing to the local authorities for social housing. The changes made by this Government, in terms of the reduction in the percentage of housing which developers must designate as social housing, have led to a worsening of the situation. These changes, made by this Fine Gael-Labour Party Government, include a reduction from 20% to 10% in relation to the proportion of houses which developers must designate for social housing and the provision of an opt-out clause to allow developers to lease houses to the local authorities. We all know - I heard Members on the Government side concede this - what happens in the context of the privatisation of social housing yet this Government proposes to allow developers to meet their obligations in terms of social housing provision by way of leasing houses to the local authorities. This is not the way forward. For all its flaws, Part V at least provided for up to 25% of private housing developments to be bought by the local authorities at an affordable rate in the context of social housing provision.

I would like to focus on the issue of rents. Before one can solve a crisis one must first prevent it worsening. The high cost of rents is adding considerably to the difficulties in the housing crisis in terms of the number of additional people joining the housing waiting lists. The measures announced by Government are not sufficient to cope with the housing crisis. Since this Government came into office, rents have increased by 35% and, in some instances, by 45%. That is a fact. In the last year rents in Laois have increased by 12.8% and in Kildare they have increased by 13.4%, which are massive increases that in terms of inflation far outweigh increases in any other part of the economy. The Government's response, in terms of the measures proposed last week by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, are not sufficient to address that situation. They do not link rent increases to the consumer price index or inflation, which leaves the way open for unscrupulous landlords to continue to increase rents to whatever levels they see fit. The only difference is that they can now only do so every two years.

There is a serious problem in relation to tenants acquiring properties to rent at a price within the limits set by the Government in the context of rent supplement. According to a recent survey by the Simon Community there is no accommodation for rent in Portlaoise that is below the threshold set by the Government.

This situation is contributing to the homelessness crisis. The pipes are leaking but we are mopping the floor instead of fixing them. In fact, we are adding to the problem instead of dealing with it. The same thing is happening throughout the State; I am merely using Portlaoise as an example.

The suggestion that the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, would monitor rents in the private sector is not practical. That body does not have the resources even to carry out its own functions, despite the best efforts of staff. We have a situation where tenants who have not had their rents increased in the past year are now facing a hike before the new measures come into force. Crucially, new tenancies will not be subject to any limits in terms of the increases that may be applied above the level of rent paid by the previous tenants. The measures the Government is introducing do not give rent certainty and certainly do not amount to a rent freeze. Rents are already rising in anticipation of the new provisions. Landlords have used the time while the Government dragged its feet to protect their interests.

The solution to the housing crisis must include rent control measures that set a maximum local rent based on the size of the accommodation. In addition, rent changes must be limited to the rate of inflation and tied to the consumer price index. These measures would tackle the issue of unaffordable rents and provide stability and fairness. Some 130 years ago, people in this country were fighting for fair rents and fixity of tenure. In 2015, tenants still do not have those rights. People who are renting privately come to my office at their wits' end, particularly if they have children, because they do not have a secure roof over their heads. It is an intolerable situation. Right across Europe, people in the private rented sector have some degree of security, but not in this State. The measures being introduced by the Government do not do enough to address that problem. We are calling for effective rent control measures which link prices to inflation. The Minister of State's Labour Party colleagues have been blaming Fine Gael for the failure to introduce that measure. I do not know what goes on inside Government and I do not pretend to know. I am certain, however, that whoever is responsible for holding it up is wrong to do so. We must ensure people are paying a fair rent and have fixity of tenure. That is what the Land League fought for 130 years ago.

There are other measures that should be taken. The Government must ensure more National Asset Management Agency properties are brought into use. Although there has been some progress in that regard, not enough homes are coming on stream. We must expand the local authority house-building programme. The Government has set out an allocation of €312 million up to the end of 2017 for new builds. That will not be enough. We had substantial house-building programmes in this country in poorer times under various Governments, including Fine Gael in the early 1950s. A programme on a similar scale now would provide a significant release valve by moving people off the waiting lists. We need, too, to put in place a proper mortgage debt resolution agency. The Insolvency Service of Ireland does not have the powers that are required to be effective. Lenders still hold the cards as long as they have lent more than 60% of the value of a property. I understand a mechanism is proposed that would operate via the courts, but it is very cumbersome. We need a more streamlined process given there are more than 100,000 people with distressed mortgages.

I offer these possible solutions not by way of criticism but to be helpful to the Government. We must move on all these fronts to tackle the problem. There is no single solution that will resolve the difficulties people are facing.

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