Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I support the intention behind the Bill. Deputy Cowen has requested that the Bill be allowed to pass Second Stage and go to Committee Stage. I have no problem with that. The Bill needs detailed scrutiny on Committee Stage.

The proposal for a one-stop shop is attractive. As many other speakers have said, we cannot compromise on standards dealing with fire safety, health and safety and disabled access. They are absolutely vital and it is essential that the highest standards are adhered to.

The Bill contains a reference to independent authorised persons. I certainly hope this means an authorised person from the local planning authority because we cannot have any suggestion of self-regulation or light touch regulation. We have seen what these forms of regulation meant in the past, particularly in the case of fire safety where there was either no regulation, self-regulation or light touch regulation. Standards simply cannot be compromised and must be dealt with by the local planning authority. Where there are standards laid down, they must be enforced. As another Deputy said, standards on paper are all very good, but if they are not enforced, they are simply not worth the paper on which they are written.

Protected structures, heritage and the need for public consultation cannot be overlooked in dealing with this legislation. That is why I believe detailed scrutiny at committee level is necessary. I am not sure whether the proposals made in the Bill will be successful. I certainly hope they will be, but urban renewal schemes have appeared previously, as have repair and leasing and buy and renew schemes, and they certainly did not seem to be successful. If this Bill was even to be mildly successful, it might help to bring life back linto the centres of towns, particularly larger towns. We all know that the main shopping centres, the main street and high street of towns are dead after 6 p.m. There are significant vacancies on the main streets of my town of Clonmel, County Tipperary. There are also significant vacancies in Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary town, Cashel, Cahir, Thurles, Nenagh and Roscrea, all of which are main towns. If this legislation was to be successful, it would certainly help in bringing life back to the centre of towns.

One of the difficulties with vacant properties concerns ownership. Frequently there are defects in title that affect the making available of buildings for housing. I make no apology for again raising the proposal I have made consistently for quite some time. While this legislation is welcome, it will certainly not resolve the housing crisis. To do that we need a number of measures. We need a declaration of a housing emergency by the Oireachtas. We need to ensure the banks we own will stop demanding voluntary surrender, repossessing homes and evicting people from their homes. We need to ensure that when properties are sold, tenants can remain in situ. All of these measures could be achieved by this Dáil if we had the political will. I support the intention behind the Bill and would like to see it proceed to Committee Stage to allow us to engage in its proper and detailed scrutiny.

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