Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Earlier, I raised the figures for homelessness with the Tánaiste. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government was present when I did so. I pointed out that in one week in February there were 85 adults in emergency accommodation in Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford. The figures we received from the Department did not specify the number of homeless children in the four counties. The problem of homelessness is not confined to Dublin and Cork or the major cities. In the midlands and rural areas there is a significant problem with homelessness.

I have read the programme for Government. When will the Government honour its commitments there and initiate the affordable housing scheme? There are several parts to solving this problem. That is one crucial part of it. We need to look beyond the M50 for the cost-rental scheme. It is needed in Portlaoise, Mountmellick, Tullamore and other large towns down the country, particularly for those who do not qualify for social housing because their income is barely over the limit. In Laois and Offaly that limit is €25,000. A couple with over that amount cannot get on the social housing waiting list and neither can a couple with two children earning over €26,000. They cannot get a mortgage and are stuck perpetually in private rented accommodation with up to half their income going on rent. I am familiar with the cases.

There is a need for rent controls to put a hold on runaway rents in the private market. Rents in Laois and Offaly are rising at between 11% and 13%. That is what the figures show. Rebuilding Ireland is not working. I am not saying that in order to play Punch and Judy with the Minister. It is not dealing with the scale of the problem. The response from the Government has been very disappointing. Recent figures show that the problem is increasing.

We need to recognise this is a housing crisis. Deputy Bailey said that we need solutions. I agree with her. Four or five years ago we put forward solutions, as did Deputy Ellis and others who were Members of the 31st Dáil. We know the Minister cannot wave a magic wand. We cannot wave one but we have to focus on this problem and agree that we have an emergency. That is the start in solving any problem. We need a comprehensive action plan to get badly needed homes in place and to get to grips with the homelessness crisis.

The main components must be the affordable housing scheme, the cost-rental scheme, the provision of social housing and the introduction of rent controls on private rented accommodation. Would somebody go over to the Customs House and put the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government onto a different track for processing the approval of local authority housing? Local authority staff around the State complain about it constantly. They must be saying it to the Minister and people in his office. The process is too slow. It takes years upon years. There is a case in Portarlington that will take three or four years from the time it is approved to putting shovels in the ground. That is too long. We need to speed up the process and liberate the local authorities.

The average rent in Laois is €932 a month. It is rising and landlords are doing side deals. I know of plenty of higher rents, with under-the-counter payments. People pay them to hold onto the property. We need to be bold about it. There is money available. The credit unions have a significant amount of money. There are pension funds from this State involved in all sorts of dodgy stuff overseas. I do not mean dodgy in the sense of being illegal, I refer, rather, to questionable projects that may not be sustainable. There is a return on some of these projects, such as those relating to the cost-rental model. Other countries do it. The Minister should go around northern Europe and he will see it being done. We need to recognise that and not have ideological hang-ups about these things.

The previous speaker mentioned the approved housing bodies. I agree with him. It is like a patchwork quilt. Sometimes I disagree with Fianna Fáil, but this is a real problem. They have little accountability to the Minister or the Dáil. Some of them are operating lease and repair schemes. The Minister should read the details of those. There is one in operation in Laois. It is a good business for what is supposed to be a voluntary housing body to be involved in. This is not an ideological matter, it is practical.

It is not a practical proposal. It is taxpayers' money down the drain for 28 years, and the taxpayer, the local authority or the Department will not own the house. Will the Minister revisit urgently the performance and accountability agreements? They are bad value for money and they are not the way to go. We need to remove the ideological hang-ups. Let us have direct builds where they are needed and let us make sure we put housing in place. We need to get away from depending on the private sector. It is not working. The suggestion has been made to invite people back to the country. We are inviting back nurses and it is good that we are doing so. Let us invite back carpenters, block layers, labourers and plasterers to work in this country to build the social housing we need. Let us recognise we have crisis. This crisis is in the midlands. We have a serious homelessness crisis throughout the State, including in Laois, Offaly and Westmeath, and we need to address it.

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