Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an important debate.

This Fianna Fáil Bill is not coming at the right time. Indeed, on the production of the new action plan for housing, what Members on this side of the House and most of the Members on that side of the House were talking about was building houses for people who cannot house themselves and about the provision of housing, particularly in the social housing area. The fact is that the Government is committed to building 47,000 social housing units between now and 2021, and there is also a significant commitment in an earlier Government plan of 75,000 homes to be provided for housing applicants or those who would qualify for home supports, such as the HAP or rent allowance, by approximately the same time. Right now, it is all about supply. It is all about making sure that those houses are built. That is why the Bill is coming at the wrong time, particularly as Deputy Cowen will be aware that the Government has accepted the recommendation of the committee of which we were both members that the tenant purchase scheme should be reviewed. The Government commitment, as the Minister outlined, is to have that review take place by early next year.

The Fianna Fáil speakers opposite all are missing the point that, unlike them, the country has changed. There has been a significant shift in home ownership over the past number of years. If one looks at the statistics, one will see that in the 1990s approximately 90% of people owned their own homes but, according to the 2011 census, the percentage of Irish people who owned their own homes was 69.7%, which is a little below the corresponding figure of 73% in the United Kingdom. It is not true to say that the majority of people own their own homes. There has been a significant reduction. In fact, there was a 47% reduction in the number of people who owned their own homes in the 2011 census. As for the number who rent, at that time - the new census was published only this week - more than 470,000 people rented their own homes. It is wrong to say that people do not aspire to rent homes.

With regard to the influx of immigrants into the country during the boom, the number who have remained here since the Fianna Fáil bust is significant. Many of the immigrant population come from countries where the preponderance of home rental is upwards of 90%. Notwithstanding the fact that buying a home is a good aspiration if one wishes to do so, it is not the case in Ireland right now, and that is a significant change.

On the broader issue of a review of the tenant purchase scheme, not even the Fianna Fáil members opposite would disagree that it is important to look after significant groups. Indeed, Deputy Scanlon mentioned one specifically, and I support him in his point about people with disabilities being able to purchase or, indeed, to live in a home that is suited and adapted to their needs. That is one of the biggest problems facing me in my constituency work. People who acquire a disability during their life as they age or people who are born with disabilities cannot get adequate or proper housing. That is why it is important in the review of the tenant purchase scheme to examine the retention of homes that are adapted for disability. Regardless of where such houses are, whether they form part of Part V housing or any other housing, we should insist that houses that are adapted for disability are never sold to anybody and that they be available for those who need them. I hope the Minister, in this review, will look at the designation of a proportion of houses that are in public ownership, be they Part V or otherwise, for people with disabilities. We all know of people who, as they get older, or even because of illnesses, would like to be near facilities such as the shops, the church or the school. These are issues that we need to look at also. In this review, it is important that we examine potentially advantageous locations for people with disabilities in terms of local authority housing, be it Part V or otherwise, and reserve them as never to be sold but to be retained for people who need them.

Another important point is that the capacity of people, as they age, to live independently is most important. I do not agree with the way society is going - the idea that after a certain age one ends up in the nursing home. We need much more assisted living. We need much more independent living. In the review of the tenant purchase scheme, it would be useful if we looked at designating houses to be used for assisted living for older people or, indeed, people with disabilities. We should designate, and never sell, those homes. In fact, in terms of our planning reform, we should be looking at reserving a proportion of houses in all estates that would meet their needs.

There is absolutely no doubt those are the trends needed and the changes we must make. Selling all the houses in a particular estate, whether public or private, is not necessarily the best action to take. I point out to the Fianna Fáil Deputies opposite that housing agencies like Respond! never sell their homes. People go into them because they are happy to rent. There is a significant and increasing number of people who are happy to rent their homes and stay in them. There is not the demand indicated by Fianna Fáil for this.

The question of housing policy is changing. The size of houses is changing and our families are getting smaller. There is a much greater need for apartment living. Although I do not have the statistics, I presume a significant portion of Part V units would be apartments. We should really look at designating properties for communities and people that need them rather than selling them off. There should be proportionality, as if something applies in one estate, there is no reason it should not apply in all estates. These are the fundamental and core markers of a caring and democratic society that provides houses for people who need them while ensuring that those who are least able to purchase a home will have one in the right place, with all the services required. For example, location is very important for people with disabilities. There is no other answer than we must do this.

The Fianna Fáil Members will want to put this to a vote but we need not necessarily divide on these issues. Some of us are members of a housing committee so we should debate all the issues, bringing people in to consider objective and clear analysis of the future as we all face it. I was in local government for many years and Deputy Scanlon was probably there for a similar period. I am 42 years in public life, for my sins, and all of them in public life are mortal.

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