Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There is absolutely no doubt but that the boom and bust cycle our economy went through in recent years has had a major and traumatic effect on the rights of people of varying households in Irish society to the most basic of needs, a secure home. The response to this difficult and challenging issue must be complex and multi-factoral. It requires us to counterbalance the private property rights in the Constitution with the principles of social justice and the common good. This means the State must intervene not only to fund, but to regulate the market and protect and provide for its citizens.

Tonight's Bill is limited in scope but it is an important element in tackling affordability in the private rental market. Previous speakers, including the Minister, have made valid points about the fact that the all-party committee will report on Friday. I hope Sinn Féin will respond to these calls but, in any event, if it is pushed to a vote the Labour Party will support the Sinn Féin Bill. It remains to be seen whether this will arise. We will support the Bill because linking rent to the consumer price index will ensure rent increases remain affordable and related directly to the general cost of living. It is a limited but important measure to bring that about. It continues the progress made last November, when the law was amended to give added protection to tenants and limit rent reviews to once every two years. I disagree with the remarks of Deputy Adams, who suggested those measures did not have an effect. I believe they have had a positive effect. I have dealt with many individuals who have been relieved to know that their rent cannot go up for two years.

This is a limited measure. The report of the all-party committee to be published later this week will no doubt contain a comprehensive series of recommendations. I agree with Deputy Cassells that everyone in the House needs to work together to provide solutions to this issue. Nevertheless, we support the measure being introduced by Sinn Féin tonight.

The Labour Party is working on drafting a wide-ranging housing Bill which we intend to publish as our contribution to the debate sometime within the next fortnight. It will include a measure relating to the consumer price index as well as a number of actions to improve affordability for tenants. It will also address the need for security for tenants and measures to significantly boost the supply of housing, which is probably more important. It is because of the shortage of supply that we have such serious problems of affordability. That is one of the main reasons the issue of affordability arises. Supply is an important factor. The Minister has promised to publish his action plan and we will be watching very closely in this regard.

I also wish to raise the issue of funding. Significant funding is available to build social and affordable housing. The €4 billion multiannual capital fund announced by the last Government in conjunction with the social housing strategy is available to be spent. The real challenge is to have it spent. The evidence thus far is that local authorities have not been as quick as we would like them to be in spending the money available.

I welcome the additional €200 million announced today by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and his colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohue, to support local authorities in providing infrastructure to facilitate housing development. I understand it will become available next year. I hope the Minister will not take his eye off the more immediate need to get these same local authorities to spend the money they have been allocated for social housing. The list of approved construction, turnkey and large scale acquisition projects for which capital was allocated to local authorities in 2015 and 2016 amounts to over €600 million. It is imperative that these houses are delivered on time. A number of houses have been funded. I have before me a list from the appendix to the outcome published earlier this year. A total of 3,366 houses are listed in a variety of local authorities throughout the country. Having examined the list, it is clear some of these houses were approved in May 2015, others were approved in July 2015 and still more were approved in January 2016. Progress has been slow in delivering this social housing. Moreover, it is alarming that the specific measure introduced by the former Minister, Deputy Kelly, is not being used. Under that measure local authorities could make a single funding submission for social housing developments of 15 or fewer units up to a cost of €2 million. This measure simply does not appear to have been used at all on the basis of the evidence we have. That is not acceptable given the level of need. Councils are not using this option to construct small developments. There have been suggestions that councils are concerned about the risk of going over budget, but that cannot be used as an excuse. I urge the Minister to ensure that councils take up this practical proposal. They need only make one submission to the Department and they can then build up to 15 units. I have just left the Department of Education and Skills. School authorities throughout the country use a devolved grant to provide classrooms. They are willing to take it upon themselves to organise the construction of classrooms. I do not see why local authorities cannot do the same thing. I urge the Minister to ensure that they do so and spend the considerable funding that has been made available. It is up to local councillors to ensure that they push for the spending of this money and do not put obstacles in the way.

The voluntary housing sector is playing a crucial role and must be supported to grow its contribution in the delivery of new units and support for tenants. This morning, I had the opportunity to launch the Housing First programme in Limerick for the Novas Initiatives. That is only one example of the strong positive work of the voluntary housing sector in delivering units and supporting tenants, especially vulnerable tenants, to stay in their accommodation. Those involved also give 24-hour wrap-around support and service to tenants.

Deputy Cowen mentioned specific measures to deal with the needs of students. These should be introduced as well because the needs of students tend to be more short term and somewhat different from the needs of other private renters. This is another area that needs to be addressed.

There is no doubt that the private rented sector has evolved rapidly, especially in recent years. We have a great deal to learn from models in other countries. For many years other countries have had stable organised private rented sectors. We need to learn from those models to provide secure homes for people on a long-term basis. While this is a limited measure, it is one of several measures required to address the issue.

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