Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As my colleagues have previously pointed out, it is time to ensure that practical steps are taken to resolve this housing emergency. Bringing in legislation as an answer to a problem is futile when the issues pertaining to the problem have not been adequately teased out or, in many cases, not even addressed. Once a structured plan is in place, additional powers may then be discussed, where practical.

With four Ministers in the past four years, there is little surprise that progress has not been made. One Minister seemingly looked for the position but - excuse the pun - he ran in the front door and ran out the back door as quickly as he could. This is not an emergency that crept in today or yesterday. We need to focus on getting results and forget about spin and rhetoric, both of which the Government is very good at. Clearly, the provision of 800 social houses falls well short of the action plan target which projects 5,000. The capital house building project is still 51% below 2008 levels.

Granted, it is to be increased to €1.4 billion in 2018, but how can inroads be made when the budget remains well below what is required?

A lady in her 80s presented at my constituency office just last week. She had nowhere to go and was homeless. At short notice the only facility available to her was a local nursing home. Obviously, this accommodation is temporary, but it is still not acceptable. It is not acceptable to take up a bed in a nursing home that is needed by many others, nor is it acceptable that an 80 year old woman should face this indignity.

While the HAP scheme could work well, and to be fair, it has worked in many circumstances, changes need to be made to encourage landlords and tenants to avail of it. That said, even when applicants are accepted onto the HAP scheme, there is a huge shortage of rental properties across south-west Cork. The position is not helped by the fact that councils do not know in an organised manner which properties have been vacant long-term or why they are vacant. This issue needs to be addressed immediately.

As an aside, the rental sector needs stricter regulation in the upkeep of properties, many of which are simply not maintained. It is not fair or reasonable to ask a tenant to reside in a substandard property.

As is the case in many rural areas, young couples in south-west Cork aspire to build their own family home. Clearly, there are huge costs associated with this. The position is compounded, however, by exorbitant levies and fees imposed by local councils. This places the idea of owning one's own home out of reach for many people. Private house building needs to be accessible to anybody who wishes to settle down in his or her own local area. Some progress has been made in budget 2018, but a lot more work is needed if this matter is to be addressed in any reasonable manner.

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