Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Before the house is built, planning is needed, roads and sewers must be put in and there is an awful problem in this country in that we do not do a bit of planning ahead of building a house. We think it will just fall down out of the sky. Right around this country the State owns a lot of land and it has never pursued an objective of putting in sewage treatment plants, having the water there, making sure that the planning has gone through and having the roads put in because that is when building can commence. In fairness to the former Minister in the Department, Deputy Coveney, we saw in 2016 in Dublin where he brought councillors together and got the whole thing sorted in O'Devaney Gardens and this is 2019 and the council has still not put in planning permission. How can houses be built on that because when we look at it it will take three or four years more? There are companies coming into this country and they have to try to get housing for their people. Those companies are able to compete better than any individual and they will buy the houses in an area. If we are not careful, we will see that it will be landlord country inside the M50 in Dublin because people will not be able to afford the housing.

The housing issue is ongoing and I am not directing this at the Minister of State but I question some of the stuff that goes on within the Department. I spoke to the Minister of State in recent days and in fairness he is as helpful as a person can be, but the Department has rules and regulations and there is no one with a bit of what I would call cop on or common sense who will turn around and say they will sort a particular issue because it will cause a problem down the line. Fr. Peter McVerry said that we have 12,500 buy to lets that are in trouble currently. It is not the people who are losing those houses, it is the people who are living in them and renting them. We cannot afford to let them move on again.

I am saying this and I may be as well off talking to the wall but there is only one way of solving housing. We have State land and we need to put in a system where we can get planning through, irrespective of the objectors and everything else that is happening. We just have to drive it on currently because this is an emergency and we have to get housing going. Roads, sewers and water have to be brought in and then it is a simple job to tell a subcontractor or the man who will price it what to do. It will not be like the hospital job up the road. It will be so much money per sq. ft. and it will be a built at a price. Affordable housing can be built that way because there are young people in the front line services, especially in the big cities around the country, who cannot afford to live in the area. There will be pressure on wages if we keep going down that road. I am looking at the Department for a while and the Minister of State must bring in seven or eight of the top people from outside who know how to go for the throat in doing things efficiently and have a group who will drive this on. I am not saying it is the Minister of State's fault because he cannot deliver the sun, moon and stars but his Department needs a woeful looking at.

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