Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

People who need to access rental or social welfare assistance from the Department must be on the housing list. Some 4,500 people are on the housing list in County Meath. The housing department of Meath County Council knows that the number of families seeking homes in the county is not 4,500. However, the requirement that those seeking rental assistance be on the housing list means that approximately 40% of those on the housing list in County Meath are not looking for houses. Will someone explain the logic of having a social welfare payment linked with the provision of housing by local authorities, given the absence of a direct link between them? I accept that some of those in receipt of housing assistance want homes, but I do not see any reason a person must be on the housing list to obtain a rental assistance payment.

Government Deputies defended the roll-out of the housing strategy last year and pointed to the allocation of €180 million. I note that Deputy Michael Healy-Rae announced that County Kerry had secured €62 million for housing. County Meath secured only €24 million, of which not a single cent has been spent. The four-stage process means that an application to build 76 houses that was approved last March is only now reaching the planning application and advertising process. Not one sod has been turned on the project and no contracts have been awarded. Only now, 13 months after the process started, is a planning application being submitted for the 76 houses, the reason being the four-stage approach to housing developments. It is frustrating that six months has been spent arguing with the Department about whether a central heating system or a back boiler will be installed in the new houses. For God's sake, is there no standard model in place? Such models were applied in the 1970s and 1980s and new models should be introduced for typical three and four bedroom semi-detached homes for particular types of family. The Department should pre-approve such models based on standard sizes, the use of square windows and the installation of a back boiler. Let us just build these houses.

While the single-stage process developed in the Department represents a good initiative, for some strange reason, it takes two steps forward and three backwards. Why develop a new initiative and then tie the hands of local authorities by applying a maximum expenditure limit of €2 million?

We are doing precisely that by putting in place the maximum requirement of €2 million. Then in the case of any money over-spent by the authorities, it is up to them to find a solution. Departments and local authorities do not actively plan to over-spend. However, we have actually put a hindrance in front of them already by instructing them not to do this. It is as if there is a big neon sign stating that they should not go near this because if they make a mistake or if something goes overboard, then they will have to find the money and the Department will not bail them out.

Either we are in this crisis or emergency together and we are willing to pull together to build the houses which, the Members of the Opposition have rightly pointed out, we need, or we are not. Can we please take away the roadblocks that exist in the housing strategy? The strategy could work if it was simply allowed to work. Everyone in the Chamber today wants to build houses. The programme exists but there are some obvious reasons it is not working. Caretaker or no caretaker, can we get our act together and start doing it now please?

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