Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In speaking in this debate, I recognise that housing and the issues around it are the most pressing issues that face us. In this regard, I very much regret the absence of Fianna Fáil from this Chamber because many of the problems we have go back to the time when it was in government.

As Deputy Boyd Barrett was speaking, I became increasingly irritated because I am so aware of the significant amount of hard work the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and his staff have done to try to get on top of the homelessness and housing issue in all its different manifestations. When I thought about it a bit more, I realised that if the People Before Profit Alliance came to power, it would solve the housing problem because the economy would go into a nosedive, many people would leave the country as a result and, therefore, there would be many homes for those who remained. I recognise it would probably solve the housing problem in that way.

I regret that Fianna Fáil Members are not present because over the long period during which their party was in government, it left much of the housing issue to chance. I will not go through all the different issues but the Fianna Fáil Governments could have delivered up to 10,000 social houses but failed to do so because they did not insist on developers building the houses they were supposed to build for social use and instead allowed them under legislation to buy their way out of their responsibilities. It effectively privatised the delivery of social housing for the majority of people coming on to the housing list. Its ridiculous section 23 tax relief permitted houses to be built where they were not needed which meant not enough houses were built where they were needed. This led to further problems because many of the skills that county councils had in respect of the delivery of social housing were lost. We must change the culture in order that local authorities get back to providing social housing. With the collapse of the Celtic tiger, developers have not building private housing either, which has greatly exacerbated the problem.

Deputy Boyd Barrett tried to suggest the Government had done nothing whatsoever to address this issue, which is utter nonsense. His party recently held a public meeting in my constituency and, when challenged, it had no practical or realistic suggestions for delivering housing.

The Minister has done a great deal to help the situation relating to rents. The most important of these measures is the stipulation that the minimum period between rent reviews for all tenancies be increased from 12 to 24 months for a four-year period. This means that anybody who has had a rent review in 2015 will not face a rent increase until at least 2017. Based on current rent levels and current rates of rent increases, extending the period of rent reviews will save an average renter €750 in 2016. As rents are higher in Dublin, an average renter will save something like €1,400 a year. It is not true to say that nothing has been done on this front. There are other measures that have addressed this issue as well such as a longer notice of new rent, a new form of notification of new rents to tenants and measures to guard against termination of tenancies on false grounds such as a suggestion that a family member wants to move into the house where that is not the case in many if not most cases where this excuse is given. There are a string of measures to try to address this issue and it is vital they have been put in place.

It must be recognised that this in itself is only part of the answer. Clearly, the biggest requirement to deal with this issue is the development of more housing, whether private, social or co-operative housing. There is a great deal of work to be done. There are measures in place to tackle homelessness? While the aims of this Bill are worthy, it is questionable how practical some of them are.

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