Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

While I am grateful to have the opportunity to speak again on the housing issue, we have to ask ourselves how many more times we have to do this before the Government accepts that for all its fancy words and promises there has simply not been enough action. The problems are well known at this stage. We have a problem with affordability, land hoarding, vacant units and security of tenure.

However, despite all those problems, one trap we cannot allow ourselves to fall into is that of a lapse in standards and quality control measures in order to expedite supply. The measures in this Bill regarding safety standards and inspections are most welcome. While we are in favour of removing administrative burdens, we must be careful that their removal does not lead to a lapse in standards.

I note a report in the Dublin Inquirertoday about an issue raised here a number of months ago in respect of emergency accommodation in Lynam's Hotel on O'Connell Street. Some of us raised concerns about the fire safety procedures in the building which has been used to accommodate families and young children. We saw pictures of fire escapes padlocked shut and exposed wiring on the premises. In response, the Minister, Deputy Murphy, stood in this Chamber and told me that the concerns were unfounded and that all fire regulations were in place. The information obtained by a number of city councillors and reported in the Dublin Inquirertoday now shows that was not in fact the case. The Minister should correct the record.

Once again, we see Government spin and bluster being used to cover the reality of the housing situation instead of being open and honestly acknowledging the problems. Surely everybody accepts that the first step in any problem is to acknowledge its full extent. Only by doing that will the Government provide the opportunity to engage fruitfully with all of us in this House across the political spectrum who want an end to children in emergency accommodation and people sleeping rough on the streets.

For our part, the Social Democrats has proposed a Bill on vacant site levies, with progressively higher levies the longer the land remains vacant, a new land hoarding levy on zoned serviceable land and more land to be taken from developers as part of a reintroduced affordable housing scheme. It is imperative that all of the solutions on the table are judged on their merits rather than on who is proposing them. We charge the Government to accept our urban regeneration Bill, just as we will support this Bill.

The number of voids is an absolute disgrace which has not been resolved. We should re-examine the source of our construction figures. It is very clear that the BER rating which the Commission for Energy Regulation produced is a far more accurate reflection of the numbers than the number of electricity connections.

See this speech in context