Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“notes:— the disturbing evidence of gross breaches of minimum standards regulations in the private rental sector uncovered by the RTÉ Investigates documentary ‘Nightmare to Let’;

— that according to the National Oversight and Audit Commission in 2015 less than six per cent of private rented properties were inspected and in 2016, according to Freedom of Information (FOI) material obtained by RTÉ, this fell to four per cent, the second consecutive year of a drop in the level of inspections;

— some 55 per cent of inspections failed in 2015 and 66 per cent in 2016;

— that 65 full-time equivalent staff were working on private rental accommodation in 2015;

— only €1 million was spent nationally on inspections in 2014;

— the resources devoted to these functions varied considerably amongst authorities, with the proportion of staff to tenancies ranging from 0.007 to 1.263 per thousand tenancies;

— the additional time specified burden of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) inspection requirements, with some 32,000 HAP tenants and rising across the country; and

— the need to ensure private rented accommodation is up to standard for all tennants; andcalls on the Government to:— review inspection processes and systems for proactive, reactive and emergency inspections to achieve maximum efficiency, effectiveness and greater sector-wide standardisation of content;

— ensure that the review covers processes and systems for recording inspection data as well as the categorisation of dwellings based on risk and enforcement procedures when non-compliance is found and look at more specialised Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and HAP requirements and opportunities for co-operation in areas such as staff training;

— clarify and eliminate the gap that appears to exist between findings of non-compliance and enforcement action;

— introduce an NCT-style private rental accommodation check as originally called for by Fianna Fáil in 2015;

— ensure that, pending the development and implementation of such an NCT-style approach and the carrying out of appropriate awareness measures, authorities set inspection targets that would enable all dwellings to be inspected every five years;

— ensure inspections should confirm that tenants have received the specified details of the tenancy and statement of information set out in the Schedule to the Rent Books Regulations;

— review the content and accessibility of local authority website information relating to their rental sector functions;

— establish a clear and transparent system for setting out follow-up actions to be taken whenever non-compliance is found and for annual reporting to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government about the actions taken to address non-compliant dwellings;

— explore how to involve tenants in the follow-up process, including the copying to them of inspection reports and subsequent communications to the landlord;

— make greater use of the Prohibition Notice procedure with a view to achieving rectification of compliance issues prior to any re-letting of a dwelling that was found to be non-compliant and could not be remedied while the tenant was in occupation;

— launch an awareness campaign, targeting tenants, landlords and their agents and focussed on the key risk factors encountered in inspections, which might usefully complement inspection work;

— ensure there is specific budgetary provisions that align resources to targets;

— examine a more equitable alignment of the cost of inspections with the allocated funding;

— introduce local performance indicators for key stages of the process and by the establishment of associated targets; and

— ensure the performance against target data should be included in the monthly reporting by Chief Executives to the elected members and present an annual, publicly available report to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Goverment.”

Although I have moved amendment No. 1, I will not be opposing the Sinn Féin motion. I recognise and welcome its contents. Moreover, I welcome that other parties have come around to the proposal we made as far back as April 2015 relating to an NCT-style system of inspection to be carried out on all leased residential properties, as should be the case.

Last week's television programme was shocking and disturbing. As others speakers have said, it was not surprising to many of us, unfortunately. We are well aware of the lack of resources, funding and personnel within local authorities, despite the fact that they are charged with responsibility to carry out inspections on private properties.

The information emanating from the programme as a result of a freedom of information request carried out by RTÉ adds to the information emanating from national statistics on how local authorities do their business. In 2015, the relevant figure was 6%. It is not only in respect of private properties, unfortunately. The State is subsidising the rent to many private landlords through housing assistance payments and rental assistance schemes as well.

There is a failure to do everything that should be done in respect of the safeguards one expects to be in place for those properties to be inspected. I raised this issue directly with the Minster in June at a committee meeting, when we were discussing the ability of the State, the Department and local authorities to respond to the fears expressed by many in this State following the terrible tragedy in Grenfell Tower, London, not to mention what happened in Carrickmines some years ago, when ten people, including five children, lost their lives in an encampment that did not meet the relevant safety standards. That was and remains the great fear throughout the State. It became a reality for many people in a shocking way when they saw what was on television last week in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme.

The failure to adequately deal with our responsibilities in this sector, especially in the crisis we are in at present and given the way in which sections of society would seek to take advantage of that, is one of the greatest failures and shames of the Government. The failure to adequately deal with this issue is putting lives at risk and they remain at risk. Although we are told the economy is thriving and racing ahead, services are not being adequately resourced or funded for the most basic of needs in this area. I saw as much recently in my constituency. The story featured in the news last night. The sister of a person who was affected by a violent burglary talked about her elderly brother going to bed and locking the bedroom door. Regardless of whether the Minister likes it, the Government is not adequately funding or resourcing policing to allow people to have more faith in the protectors of society.

This is another example of it. The Minister does not acknowledge - he needs to acknowledge it - that he has failed to adequately resource local authorities to date. Since we are talking about this housing crisis and the many facets of it, let us nit-pick at what the Minister, his colleagues and predecessors have said. The reason the Minister maintains funding is not an issue in respect of the provision of public housing is because it can take two to three years from the date a site is identified to the date construction vehicles and personnel are on site. As a consequence, of course funding is not an issue. However, if the Minister really means or contends as much, why can he not adequately resource local authorities under such a system as proposed by Fianna Fáil or Threshold or this motion?

When dangerous cars were to be taken off the roads, a system was put in place to ensure they were taken off the roads, and it succeeded, largely. Now, it appears there are dangerous properties in the marketplace and they have to be taken out. This is a way in which it can be done. The Minister says the Residential Tenancies Board can be resourced. Unfortunately, the RTB is not doing the job it was charged to do. I have no faith in the board being in a position to do this task either. If every property that was leased had to obtain a certificate from the local authority to confirm that it was in compliance with planning permission, fire safety measures, building regulations and all the laws pertaining to the way in which property can be leased, then it would be fine. If the process were repeated every few years, that would be fine too. However, I believe the system the Minister was talking about smells of self-regulation and it mentions providing certification. The Minister is depending on goodwill and I have no doubt but that he would get it from many. However, as others have said, in the context of the crisis in which we find ourselves, there are people who will take opportunistic means to better themselves at the expense of others. That is our society. That is the way it is. That is what we have to expect, unfortunately.

In the current system only 65 people are charged with the relevant responsibility in housing in the country. I made this point last June and on other occasions as well. Now is the time to act on this. In my county one person deals with this matter among many other things, including the responsibility in respect of environmental protection, reports of illegal encampments and unauthorised developments, failure to comply or discharge development levies or charges associated with planning permission, as well as all complaints made in respect of any issues surrounding planning, health and safety and the built environment. As one person could not be expected to do all of this, it is no wonder the rates are at 4% or 6%.

I accept the Minister's comment that there is greater compliance with the complaints that are made. That is no surprise. The Minister should understand and believe my comments, however, since they are based on the representations I receive on an all-too-regular basis. Many people come into my clinics and those of other Members knowing full well that they are living in squalor and danger. They know danger is associated with the buildings they are in. However, they fear the prospect of the State not being able to provide them with an alternative, even in the short term. That is why they stay where they are and that is why their lives are at risk. This is why we cannot turn our back on these people any longer. The whole country knows it, not because of what I said here or because of what anyone else here has said, but because the "RTÉ Investigates" programme showed it in a clear light.

No matter what way we look at it, it is a terrible indictment for a Department, Minister and Government to stand over a system under which only 4% to 6% of the properties are being checked. I am as frustrated as the others in this House who hear in their constituencies the heartfelt cries for help from people who do not want to become a statistic or be added to the terrible vista created and placed on families in Carrickmines.

We do not know how fortunate we are that this practice has not resulted in deaths. We can wait no longer. When members of the public hear the Minister say that money is not an object when it comes to his response to the housing crisis, they expect him to prove it.

The Minister will have the full support of the House if he establishes a process that takes advantage of local authority personnel. Having been a member of a local authority for many years, I am aware they have staff with the qualifications required to perform this function, including architects and engineers. The Government must allow them to do so.

I understand the cost of an inspection is approximately €175. If it was €250, no one would give out and the local authorities would have a source of income. God knows, the local authorities have had enough powers removed from them. Now the Minister is proposing to remove funding for this function and transfer it to the RTB. The latter has been a major disappointment. It is clearly not adequately funded and resourced and has fallen far behind in dealing with cases which take a long time to conclude. The Minister now proposes to add inspections to its functions. Inspecting accommodation is a function of local authorities and they have been short changed for too long on this issue.

As I stated, the House does not come together very often but it can come together on this issue. I do not want, at some point in future, to hear Deputies paying tribute to people who lost their lives as a result of our failure to act and the Minister's failure to adopt the proposal before him. He indicated that money is not an object. While we do not agree with his proposal on the RTB, a system similar to the NCT and policed by an independent authority, namely, the relevant local authority, would enjoy universal support and could be successful.

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