Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I came into this House to make a difference. I stand over my job as an Opposition Deputy within the context of the confidence and supply arrangement to hold the Government to account. Desperate times require desperate measures. I will try not to be repetitive or animated but I will be passionate. I believe that if we put our heads together, we can solve this problem. I have spoken many times in this Chamber on housing issues and on what is an ever-escalating housing crisis. While the public might not believe it, I acknowledge that most people in this House are genuine and sincere about wanting to solve the problem. When it comes to the supply and availability of affordable houses, which is 17% across Europe as compared with 9% here, it is clear we have a problem.

Coincidentally, I watched a television programme on the BBC last night which referred to a 48% reduction in social housing in England. That speaks for the policies that were being pursued not just here but elsewhere.

I wish to address a number of issues to the Department generally. In August 2017, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, announced some key actions, one of which related to vacant housing. This is an important issue for me. He said that a dedicated empty homes unit would be established in the Department's housing delivery office to drive and co-ordinate actions at central and local government level and to support local authorities in their actions. What is the position with this initiative? The Minister also said that all local authority chief executives were requested to designate vacant homes officers in each of the local authorities to examine the 2016 census and other data on vacant homes in their areas and to identify, through a vacant homes action plan, priority vacant hot-spot areas and properties that can be quickly brought into use. What has happened on that and what is the current position? I realise that vacant homes will not solve the problem but, as I said earlier, desperate times require desperate measures. There has been a huge disparity between the number of vacant homes identified by the CSO and the number of properties that are actually vacant. The CSO figures cannot be used as a measure of vacant homes as the office identified approximately 30,000 in Dublin city last year when the actual figure was closer to between 900 and 1,000. However, they would make an impact if they were made available.

A circular went out to all local authority chief executives regarding the repair and lease scheme on 1 February last, changing the rules so that property owners would not have to enter into such a long-term lease for the property. Why has there been such a low uptake of the repair and lease scheme? Has an analysis been carried out? I have no difficulty discussing this issue because I spent 25 years on my local authority. I know how successive Governments starved local authorities of money and staff and denuded them of powers. In my constituency, Louth County Council is acknowledged as having a great track record on acquiring vacant properties under compulsory purchase order, CPO. It uses its powers under the Housing Act to acquire non-derelict homes that are vacant, as part of the local authority’s obligation to provide housing. The director of housing in Louth has said that from start to finish, if the property is in reasonable condition, there can be somebody in the property within eight months. That is taking action. The Government has to get tough on local authorities that are failing in their duties in respect of vacant properties, so they can be brought back into use as soon as possible.

Others have referred to the figures on homelessness and I will not repeat them but it is imperative that urgent action is taken. In County Louth, for example, 65 people presented as homeless in January 2018 and a further 79 tenancies are being supported in order to prevent families becoming homeless. Some €3 million has had to be spent on emergency accommodation and €500,000 on bed and breakfast accommodation. Indeed, the spend in Dublin on emergency accommodation is approximately €60 million. The figures speak for themselves.

Of course, we could also deal with the unscrupulous vulture funds that are coming in to buy up distressed mortgages and the housing problem in one move. I have said this previously but nobody is listening. I do not have a monopoly on wisdom but offering the distressed mortgaged properties to the local authorities at the same knockdown prices the vulture funds are getting them for would remove the sword of Damocles hanging over the many people who are waiting for the grip of the vulture. I believe the Minister and the Minister for Finance, if they cannot introduce legislation on the matter, can instruct the banks, particularly Permanent TSB, that they must as a first priority offer any loan book that is suitable for housing to the local authority once they have been unable to engage with the person whose loan is in distress.

I hope the Minister will hear what I will say next. In my constituency there is a significant number of vacant dwellings arising from defaulting housing loans and repossession orders. I believe this represents 80% of all vacant dwellings in County Louth, the balance being tied up in legal difficulties such as probate or disputes around wills. I have also been reliably informed by my local authority that in its experience with financial institutions and compulsory purchase orders, there was no challenge to the constitutionality of it. It is my view - and that of senior officials in Louth County Council - that some 300 to 400 of these houses are boarded up. Most are former local authority houses in excellent condition and could be offered by the banks to the local authorities but hey are only interested in making money through the vulture funds. Because most of these dwellings are former local authority units they are in fair condition and only in a limited number of cases have been vandalised or tampered with. All have been vacant for between two and four years. Importantly, they are not on the market and their non-availability has reduced housing supply and is increasing the rent levels because of the pressure on demand. Hence the request for rent pressure zones to be extended.

Rebuilding Ireland has tasked the Housing Agency with acquiring portfolios of properties from financial institutions. Last year the agency acquired several hundred individual units. These units have subsequently been offered to approved housing bodies. I acknowledge the return of these units to productive use but I am satisfied that they represent only a portion of the vacant stock held by the banks. As an example, I note Permanent TSB has a large number of distressed vacant units in County Louth and it is neither bringing the properties to the market nor to the Housing Agency for disposal. I am strongly of the view that these units should be offered to the local authorities in portfolios. I am conscious that councils have been given limited targets to develop units and the acquisition of distressed units may conflict with national policy and balance sheet politics. I am aware, however, that Louth County Council, which has been very proactive in acquiring properties to solve the problem, would have no problem in seeking a Housing Finance Agency loan to acquire these units in one bundle to cover acquisition and refurbishment. This loan could then easily be repaid by ring-fencing the rents that are gained from putting these units to use and through future sales to tenants. As well as being the right thing to do, it would practically wipe out the council's housing list and it would improve communities by removing vacancies. The properties already sit on existing infrastructure. A measure such as this would sustain town centre communities and towns by contributing to school numbers and the footfall to small enterprises.

I do not believe I have been listened to in one respect and I am not the most popular person for pointing out the diminished role of local authorities. On the good work being done at local authority level to solve the housing crisis, I asked a parliamentary question last year on the number of approved housing bodies and staff employed. At the time there were 547 approved housing bodies employing approximately 6,500 staff. This has denuded the local authorities of their responsibilities in this area. If responsibility for housing provision was given back to the local authorities, we would have a more streamlined process, with one set of managers and administrators per local authority area instead of the hundreds of people who are managing the approved housing bodies. I am aware, however, that this would open up a new can of worms.

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