Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

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

"recognises:- that the housing crisis is a national economic, social and moral challenge; and

- the need for affordable housing to dampen down unsustainable property price rises and ensure ordinary families can secure home ownership;criticises:- the Fine Gael decision to abolish the affordable housing scheme in 2012;

- the failure to adequately invest in social and affordable housing from 2011; and

- the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government decision not to spend the €10 million allocated to an affordable rental model in budget 2016; andcalls on the Government to:- launch a new off-balance sheet housing delivery agency to lead in delivering social and affordable housing;

- compulsory purchase and develop State and State agency land in key areas of demand;

- reduce construction costs and expand finance to ensure construction is viable;

- initiate a new tenant purchase scheme to enable local authority tenants to avail of home ownership at an affordable level; and

- restore Part V to 20% of social and affordable housing."

I commend Sinn Féin on introducing the motion and thank Sinn Féin Deputies for their support and commendation for my party's recent pronouncements and proposals in this area. I will briefly outline the contents of the Fianna Fáil Party amendment to the motion. Like others, my party recognises that the housing crisis is a national economic, social and moral challenge. We call on the Dáil to recognise the need, which has been lost on the Government, for an affordable housing scheme to dampen down unsustainable property price rises and ensure ordinary families have an opportunity to seek to secure home ownership.

The House should also criticise the Fine Gael decision in 2012 to abolish an affordable housing scheme; the failure of the Government to adequately invest in social and affordable housing since 2011; and the failure of Fine Gael in government to honour its commitment in budget 2016 to spend €10 million on an affordable rental model. This is only one of many commitments the Government failed to live up to but it is one which is worth noting because, as my party has argued numerous times since this Dáil first met, a large cohort of people who cannot get on social housing waiting lists or afford homes are not being accommodated by the State via local authorities.

Consequently, the Dáil should again call on the Government to launch a new off-balance sheet housing delivery agency to deliver social and affordable homes and, as Deputy Stanley and others have argued, take advantage of the commitment made by the credit union movement to invest €8 billion in this area. We should also allow Irish pension funds to invest in social and affordable homes and secure a return which would benefit all of society. The Minister alluded to an agency the Government is considering establishing and what such an agency could do. A new housing delivery agency should compulsorily acquire and develop State and State agency land in key areas of demand.

I hope Deputies will support my call on the Government to reduce construction costs associated with the building trade in order to make it more viable. It could address development charges and certification costs and bring forward its commitment in the previous budget to establish a fund of €750 million that would offer development finance at a competitive rate. Fianna Fáil insisted on the establishment of this fund but we have not even seen the mechanics of it, not to speak of progress towards having this issue addressed.

The Dáil should also call on the Government to initiate a new tenant purchase scheme. While the scheme introduced by the former Minister, Deputy Kelly, was well-intentioned, unfortunately it did not provide local authority tenants with an opportunity to avail of home ownership at an affordable level. It should recognise again that, not only did the Fine Gael Party abolish an affordable housing scheme, but it also reduced to 10% the Part V requirement for 20% social and affordable housing in private housing schemes. We advocate restoring the Part V requirement to 20%. I have provided a concise summary of the amendment, which is focused on specific ways in which this issue should have been addressed many moons ago. As we have often heard, however, it is never too late to do the right thing.

In proposing the motion, Deputy Ó Broin referred to the confidence and supply arrangement. While the arrangement does not take control of the Government, as that privilege was given to those who secured a majority in the Dáil, albeit on the basis of convoluted figures, the arrangement specifically states that the Government would significantly expedite the delivery of social housing units. Thus far, it has not done so. We will see what, if any, progress has been made when we review the confidence and supply arrangement. The agreement also states that the Government will initiate an affordable housing scheme. Again, it has not yet done so, nor has it put forward an affordable cost rental model for the private rented sector despite the commitment to do so.

Last week, the Government referred to a pilot scheme on an affordable cost rental scheme. The time for a pilot has long since past. A universal affordable scheme should be introduced. The Government also made a commitment to remove barriers to private housing supplier but has not done anything in that regard.

As I noted this evening and on many previous occasions, the Government has not taken action on the cost of finance, development and certification costs and the rate of VAT levied on construction. I make no apologies for calling for measures in these areas because they would assist those who are able to address the affordability issue. The key to affordability is supply and the key to supply is cost. The measures I propose would assist the building sector, specifically trades such as block layers, plasterers and electricians and so forth who also need assistance. This is a way in which they could contribute and they would be more than glad to do so.

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