Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I disagree entirely with Deputy Paul Murphy on the housing and homelessness crisis. For the first time ever, we have a comprehensive programme, comprising five strategies, backed up by €5 billion in funding. The Deputy states rising rents and evictions by landlords are the cause, but the problem has been one of supply because of the collapse of the economy a number of years ago whidch brought ruin for so many.

The action plan on housing was published. Eight sites were located in Cork, Galway, Waterford, Clare, Kildare and Roscommon for the development of social housing, for which there was an allocation of €100 million. Tax relief for landlords who provide accommodation for tenants in receipt of social housing support has been maintained. From 1 July, the rent limits under the rent supplement and the housing assistance payment schemes were increased in both urban and rural areas to reflect local rent levels. The capacity to make discretionary enhanced payments was extended to all local authorities operating the housing assistance payment scheme. An allocation of €1.2 billion was announced in the budget for social housing programmes, a 50% increase on the figure for 2016. This funding will meet the needs of 21,000 families in 2017. Measures include the delivery of 4,450 units and supporting an additional 15,000 households through the housing assistance payment. In September details of the progress made in the homelessness pillar of the Rebuilding Ireland action plan were published. It included acceleration of the rapid build programme, expansion of the housing assistance payment to tenancies for those who were homeless and measures to increase social housing. In the budget an extra €28 million was announced for homeless services, a 40% increase on the figure for 2016. It included provision for 3,000 exits from emergency accommodation through a range of funding mechanisms.

Other things have also been happening; therefore, it has not been a disaster.

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