Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Oireachtas Committee on Housing and Homelessness met for the first time on 20 April. This cross-party committee commenced its deliberations immediately under the chairmanship of Deputy John Curran. I congratulate him on his fairness, impartiality and good humour. We tested him at times. We commenced our deliberations immediately on the shortage of housing supply and the related problems of homelessness being experienced in the country. It became quite clear that tackling housing supply and the related problem of homelessness is one of the greatest challenges facing our country. We quickly realised we were in crisis mode and started the task in hand immediately.

The focus of the committee was to identify how the obstacles that are currently impeding progress on the issues can be surmounted and the specific actions that need to be taken to achieve the urgent implementation of measures to address the problems involved. Homelessness is being felt nationwide and I was at pains to point this out on several occasions. It is not just concentrated in Dublin. It can be found all over the country but it is especially concentrated in Dublin and Cork. Last year, the four local authorities in Dublin spent €45 million on providing hotel and bed-and-breakfast accommodation to over 6,000 homeless people, which included over 2,000 children. We learned very quickly that current housing policy is lagging far behind the demand.

The committee received over 90 submissions from all walks of life and met with over 40 groups and witnesses. These wide-ranging groups included Banking and Payments Federation Ireland, the Housing Finance Agency and the Irish League of Credit Unions. We also met the local authorities, the Construction Industry Federation and NAMA. Those representing the homeless included Focus Ireland, the Simon Community, Pavee Point and the Peter McVerry Trust. The Institute of Auctioneers and Valuers, the Mercy Law Resource Centre and the Law Society of Ireland also presented to us.

Having come from a local authority background, my focus was centred here. Local authorities were always the main providers of social housing with a smaller number being provided by approved housing bodies. Despite the promise of shovel ready sites last year and a promise of 1,700 new homes, fewer than 246 new social homes were delivered in 2015. The waiting lists are growing daily with applicants waiting five years and more to be housed. It is imperative that the local authorities receive the funding fast tracked and the appropriate technical staff even on a short-term basis to ensure there are no delays in housing projects due to a lack of professional expertise.

We set a realistic target of 50,000 houses in the next five years through a programme of acquisition, refurbishment and new build. We believed as a committee that this target is realistic and felt there was no point being too ambitious if we could not reach the target. We also know that planning, procurement and objections to social housing are causing delays. The committee recommended that the Part 8 planning process should be reduced to six weeks and where unreasonable delays occur emergency powers should be invoked. Importantly, the committee felt that the Minister should consider a housing procurement agency with all stakeholders to assist local authorities and approved housing bodies to deliver their programme efficiently and expertly.

Another issue which was constantly raised was the slow turnover of local authority housing with some areas performing better than others. We learned choice-based lettings work well in Cork and Dublin and speed up the process through being more efficient and better for first-time acceptance. While there are still over 3,000 social housing units under the control of local authorities sitting vacant nationwide, the Department has refused to spend more than €30,000 on the refurbishment of these homes. This cap on refurbishment must be removed immediately and these homes used to house homeless families by the end of the year. Modular housing was sold to us last year but, unfortunately, it has not turned out to be as effective as we thought it would be at the time. These units have turned out to be very expensive and they are not as quick to build as we initially thought they would be. I do not think they are the answer.

These meetings were very intense and on occasion, emotional. One of the most emotional contributions I witnessed was from representatives from Sonas who explained how the current homelessness crisis was putting the lives of women and children at risk from domestic violence.

One said, "My choice is homelessness or being abused and while the abuse is bad I can't risk making my kids homeless, I just can't." It is unbelievable that this crisis means that a mother has to choose between homelessness and abuse.

The issues around the private rented sector were discussed and debated in detail. The proportion of housing accounted for by the private rented sector has increased over the years and is now at 20%. Those in receipt of rent supports and supplement form a large part of the rental sector. The gap between HAP and the cost of rent in the private sector was constantly raised. This was seen as a huge barrier in some cases and the committee heard representations from many groups on an increase. We have seen an increase recently. The increase from 15% and, in some cases, up to 29% is very welcome and hopefully in some cases it will alleviate some of the hardship. The Government's decision to increase rent supplement limits in major urban areas such as Waterford, Dublin and Cork will help but, ultimately, the only long-term solution to the crisis we are facing across Ireland is an increased supply of houses.

The committee has now finished its work and the report was published on 17 June. I trust the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and his Department have carefully considered the report and I look forward to seeing the recommendations implemented. I appreciate the point the Minister made when he came into our committee and said he would not be overly party political on this and was very interested in reasonable debate and suggestions. It is time now to act and to give effect to the findings of the report.

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