Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The question is whether the Taoiseach blames the local authorities for the mess of the past five years or their inability to get to grips with it as it continued to grow. I recall being in the House for Leaders' Questions during which the Government denied for a long time that there was a problem. The Focus Ireland statistics in regard to homelessness among children increased in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. It was a market-led approach and we were told the market would correct but it did not. We got the same response to rent allowance for three years. The Government told us there was no way it was going to increase rent allowance. There was an ideological resistance to it. At long last the rent allowance has been increased. Following engagement, discussions, party conferences and so on, it has happened.

I do not think it is fair to blame the local authorities.

Yes, they need to be looked at as well but it is a scandal that there are any empty houses in local authority housing stock given the emergency. It is incredible. Deputy Cowen submitted a freedom of information request. There are still 2,700 empty local authority houses throughout the country. In the name of God, does anybody realise that there is an urgency and an emergency out there? There are people coming to our clinics who would take those houses in the morning, but what does the Government do? It puts a limit on 30,000 houses, over and above which a local authority must seek permission. The local authority must go through an eight-stage process, which has reduced to four stages. Local authority officials are telling me that this has made it worse. The Taoiseach needs to cut through a lot of this. I put to him that given the emergency with which we are dealing, we need national administrative and statutory capacity to knock heads together and get delivery. That is the only way it is going to happen.

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