Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We have spoken on this issue many times. As everyone knows, it is the most important issue facing us in this country at the moment. It cannot wait for a new Government to be formed. As anyone with a genuine interest in housing knows, tackling the housing problem is not an overnight process; it is a long process. We all know that the consequences of the collapse of the construction industry have been devastating. We need to realise the scale of the challenge that faces us. Since 2006, when more than 93,000 houses were built in a single year, the property collapse has all but wiped out our construction industry, which has yet to repair itself. As this country has a growing population and a growing economy, it requires the construction of 25,000 new homes every year. The construction industry is barely handling half of that number. The construction sector and the housing system in Ireland are badly broken. They have suffered severely from the effects of the economic crash and are taking a long time to recover. It is going to take longer for the recovery to happen. This is not unique to Ireland. As a result of the mistakes of the past, when the residential sector was allowed to be a key driver of national economic performance rather than a contributor to it, and when housing was treated as a commodity and a means of wealth creation, the situation in Ireland is extremely challenging.

I was under no illusions when I took office. I understood that this was one of the biggest challenges facing the country as it emerged from the economic crisis. At the end of March of this year, I facilitated a Forum on Housing and Homelessness. All parties and political groupings were invited to the forum and most of them came to it. Representatives of housing non-governmental organisations, local authorities, approved housing bodies, the Irish Banking Federation, the Central Bank and the Departments of Finance and Social Protection were also invited. There were speakers from the Housing Agency, the Construction Industry Federation, the Private Residential Tenancies Board, the National Asset Management Agency, the Dublin Regional Homelessness Executive and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

I made the following three key points at the forum. First, housing is a spectrum and every segment has an effect on every other part of the sector. Every player, State body or otherwise, has a part to play in solving the housing problem. Any long-term solution needs the entire system pulling in the same direction to a common goal, namely, more, better, affordable houses and apartments at affordable prices. There are still too many sectoral interests looking outwards and finger-pointing when it comes to solutions rather than proposing remedies over which they may have control.

Second, there is no panacea to the housing problem. The solutions to the problem are not all to be found within the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. I have repeatedly said that there are many levers that need to move for this problem to be solved, all of which are not to be found within the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. In fact, most of them are not.

Third, in trying to seriously and radically tackle this problem, I was hampered not by political or financial obstacles but by legal concerns around the Constitution in terms of the time it is taking to introduce the vacant site levy in order to tackle land hoarding and in regard to protecting tenants from eviction in circumstances where a landlord wishes to sell a property. I never once stated that constitutional barriers prevented the compulsory purchase of land necessary for social housing. In my experience, local authorities, in many cases, have sufficient land stock. My comments were interpreted by some as an effort to blame the Constitution but I was merely stating a fact based on my experience as Minister, and trying to assist the next Government, whatever its make-up, to take up this important mantle. I had to take the Attorney General's advice. This particular point which I am making in regard to legal constraints was further emphasised by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, in its presentation to the forum. Those who were there on the day will be aware of this. To be specific, and for the record, my original proposal was that the vacant site levy be set at 6% to 7% of the land value and that it to come into force next year. The changes to 2019 and 3% respectively were deemed necessary in the likely event of a constitutional challenge to the courts. Today, I reaffirm my belief that we need to honestly consider what Article 43 of the Constitution means to us as a nation, to re-examine the balance between the protected and legitimate property rights of individuals, as property owners, and the wider needs and common good of society, including housing need. As a society, we need to reflect on the desired impact of the Constitution in this instance.

I also take this opportunity to counter some of what has been claimed regarding the rapid-build homes in Ballymun. By no means did everything go to plan with the local authority. However, rather than be critical of Dublin City Council, I will give it some leeway as this was the first time ever such a process was put in place and there were key learnings to be made for utilisation into the future. While costs are being finalised, I remind people that these homes are for people currently residing in hotels. In that regard, they will pay for themselves in terms of the savings generated from the State not having to pay expensive hotel bills. New units are also vitally needed. While the local authorities are already active in the local market in terms of purchases, additional units are also needed. Also, there was a premium to be paid for the timelines involved as these homes were the fastest ever built in the history of Ireland. I anticipate that the next round of procurement will run much smoother and represents part of an overall solution. I hope that the future Government will continue with the current programme.

On the issue of affordability and supply of private housing, for my part I dealt with the issues under my direct control, including reform of Part V to balance viability and social delivery; retrospective application of reduced development contributions; targeted development of the contribution rebate scheme in Dublin and Cork, focused on large scale developments at affordable prices; the introduction of a vacant site levy; consistent application of apartment standard guidelines; streamlining of the process for the making of modifications to Strategic Development Zone, SDZ, schemes; development contribution rebates for residential developments and more.

The housing actions report, which was published today - I encourage every Member of the House to read the report which is available on my Department's website - provides further information on 31 major actions taken across the housing spectrum in the past 21 months to increase the supply of housing, including social housing. NAMA is also playing its part and expects to fund the construction of up to 20,000 new residential units, predominantly in Dublin and the neighbouring counties, over the next five years.

In terms of social housing, the State is committed to helping those struggling to meet their own housing needs. When I took up office I made social housing an absolute priority. Through the Social Housing Strategy 2020, I am glad to say the State has been returned to its central role in the provision of social housing. In January, I published the first annual social housing output statement covering the first year of the strategy's implementation. Again, I encourage every Deputy to read this document in which the facts are independently laid out. Given the impact of the downturn on social housing construction, it was always going to take time to ramp up but I am happy with what was achieved in 2015. More than 13,000 new social housing units were delivered in 2015, an 86% increase on 2014; recruitment of 420 housing staff for local authorities was sanctioned; 2,700 vacant social housing units were brought back into use; vacancy rates in Dublin city centre fell to 1%; funding has been approved and sites have been selected for the construction of more than 5,000 new social housing units; and there has been a 10% increase in exits from homelessness year on year. This momentum needs to be maintained in 2016 if we are to deliver a further 17,000 units to people who need them, roll-out the housing assistance payment scheme to more local authorities and put in place a pilot affordable rental scheme in place for those on low incomes. I continue to implement the measures set out in the social housing strategy and Construction 2020.

New housing alone will not solve homelessness. According to the Dublin Regional Homelessness Executive figures, relationship or family breakdown is now the single largest cause of homelessness in the Dublin region. This not only has its roots in a lack of the right type of housing. Family breakdown is often exacerbated by poverty, poor income and employment prospects, as well as family complications. Making available free family mediation services as well as tackling poverty in a wider social sense may help ease this burden - I am confident it will help ease this burden - and prevent families from falling further into homelessness.

While 3,930 adults were identified as homeless in February 2016, it should be noted that more than 2,000 sustainable tenancies were secured for homeless households during 2015. Successful actions and initiatives are being implemented to prevent and address homelessness, including reforms to the private rental sector, the provision of rent certainty for tenants and the programme of rapid-delivery housing, which will provide more than 500 units in the Dublin region, although I accept we need more. Under the tenancy sustainment initiatives, there will be increases in the level of rent supplement to approximately 7,000 clients. In January 2015, I issued a direction which requires key local authorities to allocate at least 50% of tenancies to homeless and other vulnerable households.

The problems are complex and broad and require a comprehensive response. This Government has put in place the foundations for the solution to this problem across the entire housing spectrum and there is a responsibility on the new Government, whatever its make-up, to continue this work and to do so as a matter of priority. We need to have a grown-up conversation about Article 43 of the Constitution and getting the balance right between the rights of the individual, as regards property rights, and the common good, the effect it has on the rights of tenants relative to the rights of landlords and the effect it has on the ability of the State to tackle land hoarding and land speculation. I know all about this because I was at Cabinet taking the legal advice.

I mentioned earlier that a document was published today, which I again encourage everyone to read, that sets out 31 major actions taken in the past 21 months to tackle the problems in housing, including improving protections for tenants, the roll-out of the €4 billion social housing strategy, reform of planning laws to improve affordability, the roll-out of rapid-build for the first time ever and many more actions. I have sought to tackle this issue from every possible angle so as to improve the situation for everyone in this country. This matter has been my priority during my short time as Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The fruits of this work will take time to become apparent. We have laid the foundations but the solutions will, like any house, take time to build and implement.

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