Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A key feature of this Bill is the introduction on a temporary basis of a fast-track planning procedure for residential developments of 100 units or more. This would allow for applications of such developments to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála. It is believed that this change will lead to a substantial reduction in the length of time for the completion of the approval process for large-scale housing developments. In practice, the vast majority of large housing planning applications are already appealed to An Bord Pleanála, which has been making the final decisions on these proposals.

It is also important to recognise that under this Bill, members of the public can still make submissions relating to large housing developments. During the mandatory nine-week pre-application consultation period, members of the public can raise concerns with their local authority. If a member of the public makes an observation at this stage, the ordinary charge of €20 will still apply. I hope I am reading this correctly.

It is to be hoped that the board will have the capacity to deal with the additional planning applications and meet the 16-week statutory guidelines for disposing of applications during the consultation phase, as outlined in this Bill. I raise this issue because staffing levels at An Bord Pleanála are approximately 25% below 2008 levels and its income is 22% less than it was eight years ago. However, Fianna Fáil supports this change as one of a series of measures which are necessary to drive the much needed increase in housing supply.

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Last year 12,666 new homes were completed in the State. This highlights the extent of the current supply shortage when we consider that the ESRI has estimated that in the coming years an increase in output to a minimum of 25,000 new home completions per annum is required to meet demand.

The absence of an adequate supply has led to significant increases in house and rent prices, thus placing considerable pressure on the living standards of households throughout the country. In this regard I welcome the commitment in the Government's Rebuilding Ireland action plan to deliver an average of 25,000 units per annum over the period of the plan.

While Rebuilding Ireland begins to grasp the scale of the housing emergency, ultimately the Government will be judged on its ability to deliver on the commitments set out in the action plan. The lack of supply has had significant implications for the private rental market which has seen substantial price increases in recent years. As a result many individuals and families on modest incomes have struggled to meet the cost of rental accommodation. This has led to a changing profile of those presenting as homeless with many households that would normally have their accommodation needs met through the private rental sector at risk of homelessness.

In respect of the rental sector, I welcome that the Bill provides for an enhanced role for the Private Residential Tenancies Board. It is to be hoped that the expanded powers for the board will facilitate an accelerated resolution process in instances of disputes between landlords and tenants.

In the last two decades the rental sector has become an increasingly important element of the Irish housing system. At a national level, 20% of households are renting from a private landlord. However, at 34%, the percentage of households renting in Dublin is considerably higher than the national figure. In the view of a number of experts, an effective housing system depends on a larger role for the rental sector into the future. This must be based on greater affordability and security of occupancy for tenants. I hope the Government's rental strategy to be announced next week provides a clear roadmap in this direction.

Fianna Fáil has repeatedly stated that rent inflation in Dublin and other urban centres is severely impacting on disposable incomes, pushing people into homelessness and posing a risk to our economic stability and competitiveness. Therefore, rent certainty measures are required to reduce the unsustainable rent inflation of recent years and increase security of occupancy for tenants. The Fianna Fáil policy on rent certainty centres on a rental index based on a five-year historical average of rents in each local authority area. This would help to prevent the excessive rent inflation that we have seen in recent years.

Some of the recent proposals on rent certainty made in the Dáil, albeit aimed at increasing security, would likely have the effect of discouraging supply. It is important that any measures to increase rent certainty are sensitive to some of the rather particular features of the Irish rental market. These include the preponderance of landlords who own a small number of properties and the considerable amount of encumbered buy-to-let mortgages among such landlords.

It is important that measures aimed at increasing security of occupancy for tenants do not undermine efforts to expand the supply of rental properties. In a report published last year, the National Economic and Social Council suggested that making mortgage interest fully tax deductible when rental income is being calculated could encourage the increased supply of private rental accommodation and enhance security of occupancy by incentivising landlords to offer long-term or indefinite leasing arrangements.

Given that the housing emergency is in large part a problem of inadequate supply, it is essential that there is a considerable increase in social housing provided by local authorities and approved housing bodies as we have done in the past. In my constituency of Dublin Bay North, the effect of this inadequate supply is apparent from the fact that there are over 6,000 applicants on the waiting list for social housing.

There have been some crucial changes in the profile of housing provision in recent decades which have important implications for the current crisis. In 1975 a considerable proportion of the overall housing completions, 33%, came in the form of social housing provided directly by local authorities with the remaining 67% delivered by the private market. By 2005 there had been a substantial shift away from social housing provision, with the private market accounting for 93% of overall housing delivery.

In this environment it is unsurprising that the Irish Council for Social Housing has stated that social housing stock in Ireland, at 9% of overall stock, is low compared with the EU average of 17%. A lack of building by local authorities, combined with an over-reliance on provision by the private sector, has contributed to the current shortage of supply. In this context, I welcome the commitment in the Government action plan to provide 47,000 units for social housing between now and 2021. This will see local authorities partaking in substantial social housing construction for the first time in a number of years.

Given the reduced social housing output in recent times, it is encouraging that there is a renewed acceptance that providing housing for those in need is one of the State's most basic responsibilities. However, in light of the very limited output on the part of local authorities over recent years, additional staffing and expertise may be required to drive the substantial increase in output.

The Bill gives legislative effect to a number of the key proposals contained in the Government's Rebuilding Ireland action plan which was published earlier this year. While I welcome many of these measures, ultimately the Government will be judged on its ability to deliver on the commitments set out in its plan. It is incumbent on elected representatives across the political spectrum to vigorously pursue solutions to the current housing emergency.

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