Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

We must get to grips with them if we are to get them to work. It is a very good idea if it can be made to work as there would be the least amount of disruption for a family while the equity issue was being dealt with.

There are measures relating to starter homes that are likely to be included in the budget. There are families still in what could be described as starter homes who may be inappropriately housed. For example, a family with two or three kids may be living in a two-bedroom apartment on the third or fourth floor. That group are trapped, although their housing needs appear to have been met. That group will have to be considered in the not too distant future as their living environment is not sustainable. There would be resentment if they were not given some way to move on from that accommodation to something more suitable.

There are also issues where people were victims of timing. There was a period - 2009 and 2010 - during which a group of first-time buyers were excluded from mortgage interest relief, while others who purchased either side of those years were included in the scheme. In fairness, that issue should be examined as some of the people involved may be inappropriately housed also. It just does not make sense that others who purchased either side of that period can avail of mortgage interest relief.

The Minister was correct to start the document with the section on homelessness which must be the number one priority. We all recognise the most recent escalation of homelessness primarily involved functioning families. I attended the briefing this afternoon, at which I heard the Minister's speech and noted the point about the Housing First approach. It is absolutely the right way to go, offering services and a sustainable approach into the future.

The one thing we should not do is end up in 20 years time with people saying, "We know there was a housing crisis, we can document how it came about, but they made mistakes then that we are trying to undo". Some of what I see here is attempting to get a more balanced type of housing delivery that will allow people to downsize when they are older and may need less accommodation and that younger people who need less accommodation can move to a different size of accommodation when they have a larger family.

The different types of tenure are important and I noted that the Minister will revisit the issue of long-term rentals later in the year. That type of tenure is delivered in other countries and people find the arrangement satisfactory. There is no reason a portion of our housing stock should not fall into that category. We need to get used to the idea of changing our mindset, which is that it is in some way unsatisfactory if one does not own one's home. It is a viable type of tenure as long as people can see it as their home rather than someone else's property that they are renting short term and running the risk of having to move on and, therefore, do not develop roots in their communities, etc. As long as there is that kind of security, it is a viable type of tenure and one deserving a good deal more effort. However, the Minister will address it later in the year.

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