Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to share time with Deputy Thomas Byrne.

I merely want to add my voice to that of others this evening who have complimented and thanked the Chairman, Deputy John Curran, the other committee members and the staff associated with the committee for the work they did and to commend all the stakeholders and all the various bodies which gave of their time and expertise in an effort to help the committee come up with a series of recommendations that we hope the Minister, as he alluded to, could see fit ultimately to include in his own strategy on the part of the Government in response to this challenge that faces us.

It is undoubtedly the greatest social challenge facing the Government and the economy. It is, as others have alluded to, not only a crisisbut also an emergency. As Deputy Casey said, the percentage of representations relating to housing we, as Deputies, receive regularly is astronomical, and it is incumbent on us all to continue with the approach of this committee in so far as the Dáil can address this issue in a meaningful manner to alleviate the great blight that is on society by virtue of the 130,000 applicants on the housing list. As the House will be aware, that relates to many more than 130,000 persons. It relates to families and people in difficulties facing significant challenges to rear their families and provide a roof over their heads.

Unfortunately, the conventional methods that were in place in recent years have not succeeded in addressing this issue. I do not want or need to go over old ground in portraying the failures associated with the efforts to address this issue in recent years by virtue of the fact we have only had so many houses built by local authorities, or by virtue of the fact that when the Government says that last year 13,000 units or keys were handed over, much of that relates to a changeover in rental schemes etc., but that is neither here nor there. The job of the Dáil and the Government is to overhaul the conventional methods and change the way in which this issue is tackled to achieve success.

Deputy Coppinger is correct in that the fiscal rules pertaining to the way in which the Government does its spending now restrict the amount of funding that would be expected to be put into addressing this issue, because it needs extraordinary funding to deal with an extraordinary situation. By virtue of those rules, it is incumbent on us to look at ways and means by which that extraordinary amount of funding can be obtained and used to address the crisis. I have no difficulty with that or with the fact that funding can be obtained from various avenues. Neither the level of funding nor the cost of funds is a barrier. The committee's recommendation that a procurement agency or housing authority can have a role in gathering that finance together and seeking to lend, support or contract to, or engage in joint ventures with, local authorities, approved housing bodies, colleges and the private sector which cannot access funding at a competitive rate can be the catalyst for the sort of activity and development that is required to address in a real and meaningful way the terrible scenario that exists.

The committee's report contains many recommendations that deal with public and social housing. There was no rush on the part of any member of the committee to demonise social housing or to speak about it in such terms. We were all there with the same unity of purpose and we were all elected to best represent those who give us the privilege to do so. We all recognise the need for the issue to be addressed and the fact that we must come together to bring forward the various policies of all our political parties and none in an effort to agree a strategy or path to do so.

The recommendations in the key areas of social and private housing, the rental sector, mortgages and the distress associated with many of them offer sound and informed advice to the Minister and his Department so as to allow him to bring forward a holistic approach to the issue. I hope and expect that the Minister will acknowledge that many development or area plans, county plans or spatial strategies were initiated with the best of intentions and legal advice. They were done on a consultative basis with the parties bound by them. Nevertheless, it was never expected that we would face such an emergency or crisis such as that we are experiencing and many of those plans are not now appropriate. In some cases, they offer obstacles to addressing the issue in the way it should be addressed. There must be a window of opportunity to change, relax - where appropriate - or beef up conditions with resources such as funding or manpower for agencies like An Bord Pleanála in order that it can play a crucial role for a period so we can address this emergency. We should be able to look back and say that An Bord Pleanála played its part.

I join other speakers in voicing my disappointment that this debate is not taking place at a more prominent time. Some 15 Members are contributing this evening, nine of whom were directly associated with the committee. I expect, based on the Minister's commitment to Deputy Ó Broin and others, that when he brings forward a strategy, there will be adequate time and opportunity to debate the policy.

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