Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is old politics and disrespectful to the genuine efforts of the Opposition Members who engaged constructively on the housing crisis. I hope, for the future of new politics, that this is the last of the spinning as we move towards a Government and a Parliament working together as the people rightly demanded.

The very first line of the report states that housing is a basic human requirement. I would like to see the State and the Government go further and state that housing is a basic human right with the obligations that go with it. As a modern and ambitious nation, Ireland must work towards achieving that model, where housing is seen as a right and not simply as a vague requirement subject to the whims of changing agendas.

I am concerned about the lack of detail with regard to those in mortgage difficulties. The squeezed middle is often overlooked in major policy proposals and I fear that this may be the case again. The past eight years have been enormously difficult for these people. I would be stunned if any Deputy here did not during the recent election come across people who were visibly suffering from the strain of maintaining their mortgage repayments. These citizens are also at risk of homelessness every month when the payment is due to be made. I see no specific detail in the report which the Government has termed historic in its holistic capacity to embrace all housing issues.

In helping people in mortgage distress it is simply not good enough and I hope that in the autumn specific measures will be published for them.

I am also concerned about the number of approved housing bodies involved in the provision of social housing. There are 542 with approved status. To properly manage the provision of social housing in the long term that figure seems far too high. My personal belief is the capacity of local authorities to deliver in this area should be increased. A capacity building programme, with appropriate recruitment and training, should be undertaken to enable local authorities to gain the skills necessary to manage all aspects of social housing provision. This would be an efficient and functional model of social housing management.

As I am not in a position to address all of my concerns, I will leave points about rent certainty, student accommodation, having one State agency and off-balance sheet items until the committee meeting tomorrow.

This Dáil has hit the ground running on the issue of housing provision. An action plan has been launched. The time for talking is over, while the time for delivery has begun. I welcome the Minister's determination to track his actions in providing solutions to the housing crisis. In this regard, I have one important and sincere piece of advice to give to him from my own experience, both as a businessperson and a public representative. When a major project is undertaken in the business sector with many aspects to it and various timelines, it often happens that a particular proposal is simply not working. In the business environment remedial action would be taken immediately, even if that meant scrapping certain proposals. Throwing good money and resources at an idea that is not working cannot be tolerated today. However, I have been frustrated during the years in seeing public policies that clearly are failing being continued simply because the public system does not have the courage to raise its hand and say, "We got this wrong, but we are changing it and will make it right." The strength of the report will be the ability to change. The public system's resistance to what is simply good management practice needs to change.

I wish the Minister and the Minister of State well, as I do the committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Maria Bailey. I also believe the committee, with its oversight function, has a huge role to play in the delivery of the plan. This Dáil will be judged on its ability to deliver in dealing with the issue of housing and homelessness.

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