Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Wallace for bringing forward this Bill, which can be another cog in the wheel with regard to trying to solve the housing crisis. The housing crisis has many facets and many issues that are blocking potential solutions.

Increasing the supply of housing in the market will ultimately be the long-term and effective solution. Strengthening the vacant site levy system is vital to ensuring we have a functioning housing market. The current system will not work as it does not penalise land hoarding effectively. A significant amount of State-owned land is included on the register, which underlines the need for the State to launch an effective, affordable housing scheme on its own land.

I strongly believe that this crisis will not be solved without a hands-on approach from Government. Up to now, the Government has launched scheme after ineffective scheme and handed them to others to implement. This has not worked. The Taoiseach must get his hands dirty if we are to resolve this crisis. The Minister and his Department must be proactive in creating policy and also working to ensure that policy is implemented.

This problem cannot just be handed to the market to resolve as the market has failed up to now to make any impact whatsoever. This is one of the key areas where my party and Fine Gael differ. We understand what is required to solve this problem whereas it is one of Fine Gael's major failures after eight years in government. The solution is a hands-on approach from the Taoiseach and his Government to build social housing, to make affordable mortgages available to low and middle income workers and to ensure there are affordable houses available for them to purchase. These measures would take the pressure off inflating house prices for those whose income allows them to access mortgages from our high street banks.

The vacant site register has a number of loopholes and has not acted as an effective incentive to motivate development despite having been in effect for six months. This Bill will increase the vacant site levy to 25% from 3% next year. It will redefine and expand the criteria under which a site may be included on the register, including sites with permission unused after 12 months or a commencement order uncompleted after 36 months. It will empower local authorities or State agencies to purchase lands under the vacant site levy at 60% and 40% of their value.

The housing crisis and the way it is being handled portrays Fine Gael's values in government since 2011. It is aloof to the needs of ordinary people and just does not understand what it will take to solve the problem. The Taoiseach, in particular, displays no empathy whatsoever with the homeless. He has no empathy for those who are living in rented accommodation, with the cost of rents rising and no hope of a social house. He has no empathy for our middle income workers who cannot access a mortgage, and if they did, there is no house out there they could afford to buy. The reason he has no empathy is that he just does not understand the needs of the ordinary people of this country.

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