Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion, which we support. I thank Deputy Ó Broin for indicating that Sinn Féin will accept our amendment, which seeks to implement the recommendations of the Kenny report that were designed to stop land hoarding. There is evidence that people are sitting on land to make a greater profit. This would be a long-term way of ensuring affordable land is available for social and affordable housing without developers sitting on it until they make a killing. I am seriously disappointed that the vacant sites registers are empty in a large number of local authorities. They were supposed to have the registers compiled by January of this year in order that the levy could be introduced in 2019 but a large number of them do not have sites registered and, therefore, will be unable to collect the levy next year. That is a dereliction of duty on behalf of those authorities but the Department and the Minister could have played a much stronger role in insisting that the legislation, which was passed a few years ago to provide the necessary lead-in time - was implemented by them. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, will follow up on that within the Department.

Specific issues need to be addressed, particularly public sector construction of social and affordable housing, and the use of vacant properties. We are still awaiting the Government strategy in which it will outline what it plans to do about that. The motion addressed two issues primarily - affordable purchase and affordable rental, and rent certainty and security of tenure, which we have discussed many times in this Chamber. The two issues are very much connected because a large swathe of our population is stuck in private rented accommodation because they cannot buy. Some have chosen that option, as people do in other European countries. However, they comprise a cohort of the population whose earnings exceed the income limits for social housing or who cannot access social housing if they are within the limits. They are in the low to middle income category. The Nevin Institute suggests that this cohort could comprise up to 40% of the population that requires housing, which is significant. It is vital that this issue be addressed.

I am surprised at Fianna Fáil's sensitivity to the wording of the motion.

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