Dáil debates

Thursday, 14 April 2016

7:05 pm

Photo of Fergus O'DowdFergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an important debate and some very good ideas have emanated from all sides of the House. It is important that the Minister takes note of the points all of us have made. We might consider changing the way we report after such debates in that the Department might give its wisdom on the salient points Members raise in terms of what can and cannot be done, and how we can move the case forward.

I am not a Member of this House as long as my colleague, Deputy Bernard Durkan, who is present, but for many years housing applicants were treated with great respect by local authorities. They spoke to applicants in rooms dedicated for that purpose and the full case history of the people involved was very much in the minds of the local authority officials. In those days people would get a house after one, two or three years maximum on the waiting list. Now applicants must wait eight or nine years in some cases, which is entirely unacceptable. In some cases local authority officials are losing the listening skills they once had. Sometimes they speak to housing applicants in cold corridors or at hatches where other people can hear the conversation, which begins with the applicants being asked how long they have been on the housing list and then being told they must be on it eight years and that there is nothing they can do for them. That must end. There must be more empathetic support from local authorities as the primary housing authority. We must restore the balance that existed previously and the respect applicants are entitled to, notwithstanding the existing housing problems.

I want to raise other important issues which we must deal with in a better way.

A question arises on the rent a room scheme, which I think is very good. It applies to a very narrow category of person, who must be living alone. If such a person has a spare room or rooms in his or her home, they can be rented out to families or other people. Those who do so can get a tax-free income of up to €12,000 per annum. The person paying the rent can get tax relief on it. It is all transparent and dealt with by the Revenue Commissioners. We should relax the rules regarding people living on their own and those in receipt of certain means-tested benefits whereby the income should not be assessed against tax. Those in receipt of benefits, which are not means tested, may very well be taxed on the income. We speak about empty nesters and families leaving areas which have practically no young people any more as a generation moves on. Let us look again at this scheme. We can make it much more attractive for everybody.

A question which arises in regard to this specific issue is one which may or may not find favour with certain people. It is the issue of to whom one can pay rent allowance or a housing assistance payment. One category of person is excluded in that rent allowance or a housing assistance payment cannot be given to a son or daughter living in the family home. This means families leave home and often live under considerable pressure in very poor accommodation, which is entirely unacceptable. This option could be considered. I know many issues are attached to it but we could, as an exceptional measure perhaps for a maximum of two years until the housing supply improves, make it possible for somebody who has been on the housing list for a certain period of time, who is living in sub-standard accommodation and who is in receipt of rent allowance to pay it in his or her own home. There is an issue which must be addressed.

I have spoken to some people involved in local authorities about this issue. They are in favour of seriously examining it. It would be a significant change. One can accept rent allowance from one's nephew or niece but not a direct family member such as one's son or daughter. Given the exceptional circumstances we are in and given the circumstances of many families, it is certainly worth looking at. We could examine how, in some cases, the income received would not be included for tax purposes.

I am fed up with people telling me those with houses for rent will not accept the housing assistance payment or rent allowance. This has been discussed previously and perhaps the Minister could respond on whether this is lawful. Should it not be illegal for anybody who has a property to rent to discriminate against a potential tenant solely because the money would be paid through a housing assistance payment or rent allowance? There may be issues in this regard but if something is offered for rent, one is not be able to discriminate on the grounds of religion or colour so why should one be able to discriminate on the grounds of how the payment is made?

I sometimes go to west Kerry, which has a huge number of homes that are empty for nine months of the year, as is the case in Donegal and other counties. They are full for three months of the year but not for the other nine. Is there a case to be made for assisting, through tax incentives, families who wish to move to such areas? I know it is not easy and it may not be practical in many cases but could the owners of these homes receive a tax-free income as an exceptional measure for two years? If the homes need to be upgraded with regard to energy to make them fit to be lived in for 12 months, let us do so. These houses are there already and they are empty. The lights are never on from September to April.

We need to examine affordable housing and to do much more in this regard. Many couples and people would love to build their own homes but they cannot get a loan because they do not have a 10% deposit, they cannot get a site and nobody is assisting them to build it. There are several hundred acres at Gormanston army camp. We could take 60 acres for affordable and social housing. The strategic investment fund or whatever fund we could get, could be used to develop the site with regard to water, electricity, sewage and all of the infrastructure. It could be provided by the local authority or the State through a special purpose vehicle. Particular types of houses could be designed so we do not have a one house fits all and we have different types of housing for different family units. Let us get up off our butts and do this because we are sitting back and looking at all of these resources and not doing enough. I suggest the Department focuses on such a site in State ownership. It is beside a motorway and a railway. It already has much infrastructure. We should put in place the rest of the infrastructure and offer it to builders if needs be. It could be offered free to a builder to fix the price of the house. A potential design could also be offered and all of the planning costs could be covered. Why do we not do this? What is wrong with this? Does it not make a lot of bloody sense? We need to think in new ways about old problems.

We could bring together ten or 12 people who qualify for affordable housing for a group scheme. Let us use our initiative and not lose it. Years ago, local authorities were far more focused on all of these issues and we need to ensure they have the skills and knowledge. They have knowledge through engineers and planners. They have many good things going for them. Let us put added value into local authorities so they can provide the change needed.

In County Louth and throughout the country there are dozens of empty houses in rural areas. Many of them are single houses which have been abandoned with nobody in them. Some of them are half finished but all of them are empty. Why do the local authorities not do a survey of all of these houses and approach the owners to see whether they can be rented, leased or bought? Let us have a new more aggressive approach to sorting out the problem. We are sitting back too much on these issues.

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