Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Calleary and commend Deputy Cowen on the motion. As we speak, one would be able to buy two or three houses with the money used to proved people with temporary accommodation. That is the reality of what is going on in the country. I have seen the number of voids throughout the country which are the result of people not making decisions. Whenever one asks questions, one is told no one is at fault and that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has to deal with the issue. Whoever is at fault, the situation needs to be sorted out.

In many areas where there is no demand for housing, houses have been left vacant for ten to 15 years. That is not the fault of those involved in housing, but people in county councils need to make decisions about selling such houses and buying houses where they are needed. Ironically, we sold the country to vultures a few years ago and are now trying to buy back the same houses. Opportunities are available to the Government. I attended a meeting in Roscommon two weeks ago. I could not believe it when I heard that over the next three years only ten new houses will be built.

The new concept seems to involve the private sector providing rental accommodation. At the end of the day, no one is making a decision. Councils have a lot of land. A builder could build a house at a cost of €80 per sq. ft., but decisions are not being made to do that. We are not going the distance and sorting out the problem. We have decided to go down the road of modular houses. We were told they would cost €90,000 or €110,000. I read in a recent report in a newspaper that the costs of infrastructure and everything else would result in such houses costing €160,000 or €170,000. Can the Government not see that it could build many houses very quickly and create employment? Most of the required building materials are available in the country. More employment would be created. It would be a win-win situation. Instead, we decided to bury our heads in the sand and implement short-term solutions.

I know temporary accommodation has to be provided, but we are not solving the problem by concentrating on that. We have to go the distance. We have to change the mindset that the private sector will solve the problem. That is not working and the desired results are not being achieved.

The Government needs to work with NAMA because it may have the necessary finance if the Government wants to go down that road. The Government should put it in charge of building a specific number of houses where they are needed.

Every county has one, two or three towns to which people say they want to go. As Deputy Calleary said earlier, if other towns are improved, businesses are back up and running and essential services provided, they will be more attractive for people to live in. If such changes are not made, the crisis will continue to get bigger. We have to forget about dazzling figures. In October 2014, I heard in the Budget Statement that a gigantic figure would be spent on housing, but I never saw it since because it did not happen. The promises are not any good. We have to nail the problem down once and for all.

A 1,200-1,400 sq. ft. house could be built for €80 per sq. ft. Plenty of land is available to county councils. The Government should give NAMA the job of providing low-cost housing to ordinary people. Instead of continuing down the road we are currently on, namely, building a certain number of units for the private sector through NAMA, there should be a 50:50 split. The problem can be solved if people roll up their sleeves and get to work. Dancing in front of a veil and not doing anything is not an option. The issue needs to be addressed and I commend Deputy Cowen on the motion.

See this speech in context