Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The function of any government in a Western democracy is to provide for its citizens in a basic range of areas. Irish governments over the last ten years have failed at this in many regards, but none more so than in housing. The current crisis is years in the making but its origins lie in the decisions of the past and present governments not to get involved in building houses and to allow the private sector to supply the basic needs of housing. The small sop given to social housing was the provision of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, which was to enable the development of mixed-tenure and sustainable communities in order that when private firms were building our estates, local authorities would have a dividend of social housing which therefore helped the wider community at large. In line with this, Part V units are excluded from the tenant purchase scheme to ensure that units delivered under this mechanism will remain available for people in need of social housing support and that the original policy goals of the legislation are not eroded over time.

The house purchase scheme just introduced allows for the main tenant, partner or spouse to purchase a property based on his or her income. This clearly discriminates against older people in particular, who will not get approval on the basis of age and future earnings. The previous scheme allowed for other members of the family in the tenancy to raise the necessary finance, which allows for a greater mix in ownership. With regard to this Bill by Fianna Fáil, it seems that we are going back in time to a situation in which social housing is left once again at the mercy of private developers. The whole premise seems strange in that a person who receives a Part V social housing unit could after a year go out and purchase it at a discount, mainly on the basis of earnings. It goes against the whole idea that initially underpinned Part V. Sinn Féin believes that any money obtained under the house purchase scheme should be ring-fenced to build further social housing and not end up in a kitty. Any sale of housing stock should be replaced one for one.

In relation to the amendment by the Minister proposing to review the tenant purchase scheme after one year in operation, it is difficult to see how one could review a tenant purchase scheme of this nature after a year. However, we are not opposed to the Government’s amendment, as it will achieve what needs to happen with regard to the original amendment. In the context of the review in one year, it shows that it is another exercise of kicking the can down the road by the Government-----

See this speech in context