Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I said much of what I wanted to say today on Tuesday evening. On numerous occasions - during Leaders' Questions, Topical Issue debates and debates on motions and legislation we have introduced - I have outlined some of the things we believe need to be done. It is hugely disappointing that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Murphy, did not pay attention to what many of us in the Opposition had to say, which was very clear from his remarks the other day. It appears, though, that it is not just Opposition suggestions the Government has been ignoring. The Minister of State's parliamentary party meetings are not especially confidential, and reports today about the most recent meeting show that there are obviously concerns about this issue within his own party.

One thing we believe is absolutely essential - we have been saying this for several years - is the delivery of a housing agency, a delivery agency, with proper, powerful teeth and targets in place, not the weak Land Development Agency that has been established. Project management of public landbanks is crucial if we are to achieve affordability, which will be the critical issue. We should accumulate more landbanks and prioritise public landbanks for housing that is affordable to buy or rent. We should allow approved housing bodies to borrow off the Government's balance sheet. We had some of the approved housing bodies before the Committee of Public Accounts and they were very optimistic about what they could deliver and where they could source the funding. They believed there was a sizeable amount they could do in terms of a different type of offering. We need to develop and properly fund an affordable purchase scheme. Whereas the Central Bank is renewing the policy it has been pursuing, and no one wants people to get further into debt, there is no doubt but that people are paying multiples in rents over what they would pay in mortgage repayments. The central issue is that we drive down the price of delivering houses. We should urgently design and adequately fund a cost-rental scheme such as the Vienna model. I am sure many others have talked about this. I am trying to be in the Committee of Public Accounts and here at the same time so I have not heard all the debate. We should implement a nationwide rent freeze. This has been done in Berlin; there is absolutely no reason we cannot do it here. It should be done and should have been done years ago.

The housing assistance payment was introduced as a short-term measure. Some of us were very critical of it when it was introduced and said that unless there were an accelerated housebuilding programme, it would not work or would become the de facto housing solution. It is not even working. I do not know whether there is even much point in saying that today because I have said it in a Topical Issue debate and on Leaders' Questions. There is a wait of about 12 weeks in my area, and I know mine is not the only one, even to administer that. It is becoming even more difficult for people to source accommodation with the housing assistance payment. We need to abolish all special tax benefits for REITs and the so-called cuckoo funds. The kinds of communities they are building will be transient. There is no commitment to this country; their only commitment is to profit. A very dangerous approach is being taken in this regard and, as I said, the over-reliance on the housing assistance payment needs to end.

In the very short time left to me I will make just two further points. I was at a meeting of Kildare County Council with all the Deputies and Senators from the county. There was huge criticism - not only from me but also from people from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael - of the strategic housing developments. Irish Water is an impediment in this regard. The strategic housing developments are very problematic regarding the bypassing of the local authorities. I refer not only to the democratic side of things but also to the functional side. That needs to be revisited, and I will talk to the Minister of State about it again in greater detail.

The homelessness problem is accelerating outside of Dublin. In areas that do not have city infrastructure there are no agencies to provide the extra suite of solutions that, for example, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive provides.

It is becoming a greater problem. That has been spoken about by some officials in local authorities to whom the Minister of State might talk about this.

See this speech in context