Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have four minutes and will try to leave a minute for the Minister to answer two questions. It is my first opportunity to speak in the Dáil and I very much welcome it. I thank all the people in Meath West including in north-west Meath who voted for me. I thank all the staff in the Houses of the Oireachtas who have been so nice and helpful to us since we came in here.

Housing was the biggest issue before and during the general election and it will remain a huge issue after Covid-19. In Meath West we see the full range of issues relating to housing. There are thousands of individuals and families on social housing waiting lists and there has been little or no progress. At the current rate, it would take the council 50 years to clear the list. Waiting lists for one-bedroom properties are well in excess of ten years. There is a huge shortage of houses to rent or to buy. Rental properties are either unavailable or unaffordable. Rents increased by 15% last year in County Meath and by 10% in Westmeath before the Minister agreed to a rent freeze. Meath and Westmeath have been chronically underfunded by the Minister's Department and by central Government generally. Meath is the worst funded county in Ireland by head of population, it is €72 million below the national average annually. Local councils are suffering greatly as a result of Covid-19, with their incomes, rates and grants severely impacted. I would like the Minister and the Government to ensure that vital services provided by the local authorities, including road maintenance and repair, environmental services and house building programmes, do not suffer.

Our major urban centres such as Johnstown, Navan, Enfield and Trim, still suffer as a result of bad Celtic tiger planning. Whole communities, tens of thousands of people, are denied basic facilities, parks, playgrounds and community centres. These communities should not be left at the bottom of the pile. Thousands remain homeless even during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 9,907 people in March. In my first Dáil speech, I send each one of those homeless people my best wishes. I thank the people who volunteer to help them, such as the people in the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Athboy People who Share Care Group and other charities.

I want to conclude with two specific questions. Public housing developments are happening across Meath and Westmeath. Will the Minister guarantee they will be completed? There are also Part V properties due from private developments. What is the Minister doing to ensure these will be still delivered? Will the Minister outline what instruction he has given councils on Rebuilding Ireland home loans, especially as regards applicants in receipt of Covid-19 unemployment payments?

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