Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I disagree entirely with the Minister that this is premature and the Fianna Fáil speaker who said the Bill was based on ideology. I am not sure if they are in touch with what is happening on the ground. While I have difficulties with some sections of the Bill, I agree with the intention underlying it. The Bill arises because the Government's housing policy, as well as that of the previous Government, have utterly failed to deal with the issue of security of tenure. The housing policy pursued by them has ensured insecurity of tenure is, unfortunately, an integral part of the life of tenants. The Bill arises from the desperation felt by tenants not only in Dublin but throughout the country, including Galway. On a regular basis we receive reports from bodies such as daft.ie, the Housing Agency and various charities on rent increases. Rents are rising exponentially and bear absolutely no relation to peoples' earnings or social welfare income. A member of my family is about to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Dublin for which the rent is €1,000 or more than half their earnings.

The Government's policy response comes in the guise of social housing. I wish the Minister would stop using the word "social" because when he talks about social housing, he is primarily talking about the housing assistance payment, HAP. In Galway city that is the only game in town. A number of people came to my office in Galway crying because they had to fill in the form by 13 January and if they did not fill in the HAP form and get the landlord to sign it, they would be in serious trouble. Their name would be removed from the housing waiting list. Equally, if they signed up to it, their name would still be removed from the housing waiting list and put on a transfer list. It is important that such facts get out. That is what the Government is calling social housing. In fact, what it is doing is actively helping the market to triumph, while protesting before Christmas that it could not take any action to stop rents rising.

The little action he did take related to an increase of 4% for three years and was revolutionary according to Fine Gael and the others supporting the Government. However, the housing assistance payment is predicated on supporting landlords and putting money directly into their pockets. What is even worse is that the policy is asking tenants to collude with payments under the counter because the housing assistance payment is capped depending on whether it is a household with one person or more. It is capped and that is all he is going to give at that level. Tenants must come up with the difference to get a house or apartment in Galway. Otherwise, they cannot get it. We have gone way up above 50% of income. The Minister is telling us in this House that this is social housing.

This Bill is attempting to deal with a problem that has been created by the Government and the previous one in not tackling the market. Yes, there is a place for the market. I have no hesitation in saying that in this Chamber. There is a place for private landlords but the main role must be for the Government through direct provision of public housing - not just for people under a certain income but as a choice in order that it balances the market. Let us look again at Galway city. I do not know what figures the Department is working from but I got the latest figure from it and it is about 3,500 households. The figure for Galway in the quarterly report at the end of September last year, which has risen since, is 4,720 households. At a conservative estimate, if one doubles that, we are up to 9,000. Families are generally bigger so my estimate, and it is amazing that I have to estimate this, is that 15,000 people are waiting for a home in Galway city. Those waiting the longest have been waiting since 2002. The last person I made representations for has been waiting for a two-bedroom house since 2002. It is now 2017 and in that 15-year period, that person has never once been offered a home. I am trying to grasp that because when I stand here, the Minister has told me that money has been made available. The former Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, told me that money was made available, yet since 2009 not one social house has been built in Galway city. That is why we have a crisis. It is because the city council has utterly failed to build houses. The written reasons given were that there was no funding from Government. Yes, money has been given for voluntary bodies and some money has been given to acquire some houses but we have had no direct build. In the middle of this crisis-----

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