Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. Somebody asked me in the past hour or two in the corridor how the Government is progressing and about the potential of it or this Dáil to be a success. We have to reserve judgment regarding the way business is being and is about to be done and the effect it can have on those who gave us the privilege of being here and who seek to resolve many of the issues we were elected to address. We are in a new space and new circumstances, and there is a new dynamic. As we all know, there is a considerable disparity in terms of representation in the Dáil. Undoubtedly, business will be done in new ways, and there will be new rules and methods. They are not laid down in stone, but people must be cognisant of them and of the way in which one can hope to effect the sort of change we want to see. My party did not win enough seats to lead the Government. It did not win enough votes in the vote for Taoiseach to lead the Government. Having failed on both of those counts, we still believed there was an onus on us to act responsibly as republicans and democrats and to allow the people an opportunity to form a Government from the existing configuration. We sought to facilitate the formation of a Government, with certain provisos.

We know and accept that, undoubtedly, the greatest challenge facing the State, the economy and society is in the area of housing. There is a chronic set of circumstances, a crisis and an emergency. I acknowledge the good faith and intentions of members of Sinn Féin who initially proposed the setting up of a special housing committee during the period between the election and the formation of the Government. It went somewhat beyond that, and a date was proposed. I acknowledged, welcomed and supported the proposal. A great effort has been made by all Members, of all parties and none, to consult the stakeholders and all concerned in the public, private and voluntary sectors who are working at the coalface, to seek to achieve a consensus among the disparate representatives, to make honest, forthright recommendations, and to acknowledge that the conventional processes and ways in which housing was funded need to be addressed. There are many worthwhile, credible recommendations that will emanate from the committee. I congratulate its chairman, Deputy John Curran, on the manner in which he conducted its affairs. I congratulate all the members, the staff and the executive who assisted in the provision of the report to be produced next Friday. The report will seek to address the provision of housing by the public and private sectors. It will seek to address mortgage distress, mortgage difficulties and the issues in the rental sector. It will seek to provide solutions that can be applied by local authorities and approved housing bodies, and also by colleges in respect of the provision of accommodation on their campuses. It will address affordability for many professionals and others who can no longer afford accommodation that may be provided in larger cities and towns. Companies such as Google can provide many top-class jobs but, as good as those jobs are, as good as the qualifications of those who acquire those jobs are and as good as the pay might be, the employees still cannot aspire to own their own homes. That must be addressed.

That is but one issue. Rent certainty, rent tenure, the quality of tenure and the ridiculous circumstances of those who have mortgage-to-rent properties that are being taken from under their noses, thereby leaving them out on the road, must be addressed also. A holistic approach must result from the work of the committee, with a view to the making of recommendations to the Minister and his Department. The Minister has acknowledged that the conventional methods, processes and funding models can no longer sustain the extraordinary amount of investment that is required in order to address the extraordinary circumstances that prevail.

Like the Minister, I acknowledge the good intentions of the proposer of tonight’s Bill. Just as I was to the forefront, along with others, in putting a committee in place that sought to instruct and assist the Government in addressing this issue in the way in which an all-party committee believes it can and should, the Minister, along with his Department and the Government, must acknowledge the responsibility he has to take into consideration much of what is being presented by the committee, because it is representative of this Dáil and, by association, the people. The Government does not have the power to disregard any more. It does not have the power to analyse and scrutinise the proposals of this side of the House adequately, as it could have done in the past, most especially because of the magnitude of this issue.

In so far as I can, I am prepared to be responsible and pragmatic as a representative who has been given the privilege of addressing these issues, having taken on board the recommendations, good intentions, will and hard work of those involved with the committee, the parties and all others associated. Respect should be given to the process. It is not fair or appropriate to come forward with this Bill, despite the fact that, as I said, it is well-meaning. It is simplistic in nature and, in addition, addresses but one issue of the many that must be addressed holistically. That is why it undermines the work of the committee. That is why it is usurping and gazumping the committee. I, too, earnestly ask that this debate, on its conclusion, be adjourned until such time as the report is laid before the House, debated, analysed and scrutinised and, if and where necessary, improved by others in this House who have the opportunity to do so. At that stage, there will be a united approach on the part of us all to make a recommendation to the Minister to address this great crisis. If he or his Government fails to take on board those issues in a new way that involves an overhaul and a new consensus, the future of the Government will be at stake. As I said at the outset, we all agree this is the greatest crisis facing the economy and society at present. This has been the case for the past two years, unfortunately.

The Government that had the power in the last Dáil believed it could deal with this issue in the old, conventional style in which it had been addressed in years past, but this style cannot accommodate the sort of investment that is required nowadays. For example, the fiscal rules that govern the amount of spending by the Government in this area would not allow this issue to be addressed in the necessary manner. As I said, there has to be an extraordinary investment of many multiples of what was invested in the past. That can be done through special-purpose initiatives off the balance sheet. It could involve the State, housing agencies, the NTMA, the private sector and the credit unions that wish to participate. I hope all of these factors can combine to create an opportunity over a two-year period to address this matter such that we will be able to look back and say a commitment was made by the whole Dáil and all its parts to resolve an issue that needed to be resolved, a crisis. At that point, I could say to the person who asked me a couple of hours ago whether this Dáil can succeed that it could. However, if people will not play by the rules and acknowledge the changes that must be addressed, this Dáil will be dissolved sooner rather than later.

An election will then be called and we will waste another six months. In saying this, I am not casting aspersions on members of the public and the result they gave us to deal with. We dealt with the outcome of the election as pragmatists and responsible citizens, while respecting the decision of the electorate, as convoluted as we may have found the configuration of representation in the House. I earnestly ask the proposer of the motion not to force a vote on the issue because if a division is forced, I and my party will vote against the motion.

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