Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"recognises that the Programme for Government – Our Shared Future acknowledges that Covid-19 has presented the global community with a terrible set of challenges to add to the ongoing climate and biodiversity emergency;

acknowledges the extensive range of measures included in the Programme for Government – Our Shared Future, building on the initiatives already undertaken and in progress, which will be brought forward to support individuals and families in dealing with the financial implications of Covid-19 and to access affordable housing and, in particular, notes that: - the Government has confirmed its overarching housing policy principle that everybody should have access to good-quality housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard, and located close to essential services, offering a high quality of life; and

- the focus in recovery will be to get people back to work as quickly as possible. The Government’s aim is to create 200,000 new jobs by 2025 as well as helping people currently unemployed due to Covid-19 get back to work; notes that the Programme for Government – Our Shared Future acknowledges that the Covid-19 emergency has illustrated the resilience and responsiveness of our system. Hundreds of thousands of people have had their incomes largely protected during the restrictions and thousands will continue to rely on the State for months to come. As this Government moves forward with a new social contract with citizens, the Government will ensure a balanced progressive approach, which provides a safety net to those most severely impacted by Covid-19 while increasing incentives and access to reskilling to enable people to get back working;

further recognises the role that income supports, such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, and the flexibility provided through Rent Supplement, have played and continue to play in supporting our citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic; and

further notes the Government's intention to: - extend the moratorium on the termination of tenancies, in line with public health advice, if the requirements of section 4 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 are met;

- improve the supply and affordability of rental accommodation and the security of tenure for renters; and

- introduce the necessary reforms to our personal insolvency legislation and ensure that sufficient supports are in place for mortgage holders with repayment difficulties and to assess the Code of Conduct on Mortgage Arrears, including the available suite of alternative repayment arrangements, and ensure it has full legal effect."

I appreciate the motion that has been tabled by colleagues in the Labour Party. It follows on from the very constructive approach they took last night in the debate on affordable housing. I will take on board the suggestions that are put forward in contributions today. I took extensive notes during the debate last night and will be responding to those Members who were constructive in their suggestions, such as those in respect of the rent-to-buy scheme. The Government and I do not have all the solutions. We are dealing with a housing crisis, a rent and mortgage arrears problem and a Covid pandemic. We must deal with all of these issues in order to get our country through this phase and onward towards recovery.

Deputy Nash spoke about the interest being charged in respect of mortgage payments not paid during the moratorium. The only mortgages I have control of are the Rebuilding Ireland home loans. Those State-backed mortgages are still being given. There is no blanket ban on lending and the message to the contrary that was put out is not true. There is no interest being charged on those mortgages and nor will there be. They are the loans over which I have direct control. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, will speak about the revision being prepared by the Minister for Finance as part of a review of the code of conduct on mortgage arrears. I can only speak on what I, as Minister, have immediate remit and control over, but I absolutely agree that the response to this issue has to be a cross-Government one.

Deputy Ó Ríordáin spoke about State intervention in the market and the State leading by example. I support that, as does the Government. It is why I outlined last night the initial process in regard to setting up a State-backed affordable purchase and rental scheme. It is why we have included in the programme for Government that we want to get local authorities back building and delivering public homes on public land. Our aims in providing housing for all are specifically set out in the relevant section of the programme for Government and they are things this Government is determined to do.

I will deal now with the specific issues raised in the Private Members' motion.

I reiterate that I genuinely welcome the motion and the constructive way in which it is being put forward.

Covid-19 has presented this country and the global community with enormous challenges over the past four months. These add to the ongoing climate and biodiversity emergency. The pandemic continues to present challenges. The programme for Government, Our Shared Future, asserts the Government's ambition to meet those challenges, repair the damage that has been inflicted on our people by the pandemic and take the renewed spirit arising from these challenging times and translate it into action. The Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, published in May by the previous Government, recognised that within a few weeks of the first cases of Covid-19 being reported in Ireland at the end of February, it became necessary to take unprecedented steps to control the disease. Restrictions on the movement of people were necessary to suppress the spread of Covid-19 and minimise its impact in Ireland. This has been a very stressful and testing time for our people.

Ireland's continued success in suppressing the spread of Covid-19 is a testament to our collective resolve to fight it head on. Together, our actions have allowed an acceleration in the relaxation of the broad restrictions on the movement of people to occur with reasonable confidence, but requisite caution. We are not yet out of the woods, but the relaxation can and should be cautiously welcomed. Our public health officials have earned the respect of the people of our country and the Government. We will continue to work with them to carefully monitor the threat and management of Covid-19.

Our society and businesses are set to continue to gradually open up in the coming weeks. The economic impact of the pandemic will continue to be felt in all parts of the country and, indeed, society. As the Taoiseach has stated, there is no question but that our first priority as a Government is to continue the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and to move decisively to recover from its devastating social, economic and cultural impact. The key goal is to get as many people back working in a safe manner as soon as possible.

As Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, I know that people need to get back to work and be able to pay their mortgage or rent and other bills as soon as possible. Income supports continue to be available on the housing front and will be available long after the Covid-19 threat expires. The Government is committed to helping people who need help to meet their housing needs. It believes that everybody should have access to good quality housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and located close to essential services offering a high quality of life. We understand that the provision of more affordable housing has a profound benefit socially and economically and we believe that the State has a fundamental role in enabling the delivery of new homes and ensuring that the best use is made of existing stock.

The amendment I tabled on behalf of the Government seeks to recognise and highlight the State supports available and the commitments contained in the programme for Government, Our Shared Future, to continue to manage the fallout from Covid-19 for all households. The programme for Government contains a commitment to extending the moratorium on the termination of tenancies in line with public health advice so long as the requirements of section 4 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 are met. Further, it also contains a commitment to improving the supply and affordability of rental accommodation and security of tenure for renters by delivering a new deal for renters. There is also a commitment in terms of introducing the necessary reforms of the personal insolvency legislation and to ensuring that sufficient supports are in place for mortgage holders with repayment difficulties to access the code of conduct on mortgage arrears, including the available suite of alternative repayment arrangements, and to ensuring it has full legal effect.

Emergency legal measures with effect from 27 March 2020 were introduced to protect tenants during the Covid-19 emergency period. Tenants cannot be forced to leave their rental accommodation other than in exceptional circumstances and rent increases are prohibited for the duration of the emergency period. These emergency laws initially applied for a period of three months from the enactment of the Act but, on the request of the former Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, the previous Government by order extended their application to 20 July. The emergency laws set out the legal process for extending the Covid-19 emergency period. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government must request that the Government make the order having consulted with the Minister for Health and with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Government must consider such extension appropriate and be satisfied that it is in the public interest, having regard to the threat to public health, the highly contagious nature of Covid-19 and the need to restrict the movement of persons to prevent its spread.

Tenants are required to pay rent to their landlords during the Covid-19 emergency period. Any tenants having difficulty so doing are encouraged to engage with their landlords at the earliest opportunity. They should also engage with the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection as income support and the emergency simplified rent supplement are available. I will turn to that matter when I address the number of people who have accessed that payment in the relevant period. I encourage landlords and tenants to communicate with each other during the emergency period, as many have done, to see whether a resolution to any dispute can be found. The Residential Tenancies Board is encouraging all customers who require assistance or advice to contact it via its web service as there may have been delays answering its phone lines during the period of the emergency.

Any future request for the Government to make an order extending the emergency period will be made at the appropriate time and in accordance with the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020. As we approach 20 July, I am conscious that I will be writing to the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to ask whether the public health situation merits a further extension of this moratorium. If it is justified, I will bring a proposal to the Government accordingly. I will consider the economic situation as well as giving consideration to renters and possible further measures that may be put in place should they be needed.

The Government has made efforts to ensure that social housing supports are provided as efficiently and fairly as possible during the Covid-19 pandemic. Housing assistance payment, HAP, tenants who are not financially impacted upon by the Covid-19 measures are expected to continue to pay their full HAP differential. However, local authorities should reassess tenants whose circumstances have changed or do change and adjust their differential rent accordingly. Local authorities have been requested to ensure that HAP tenants newly in receipt of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection supports be facilitated in remaining in their HAP tenancies. If amendments cannot be made immediately to a tenant's differential rent amount, any arrears accumulating from the date of approval of the new Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection support should be rectified at a later date. This will not affect the payment to the landlord.

The rent supplement scheme continues to provide short-term income to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The scheme ensures that renters experiencing a temporary loss of employment during this emergency can continue to meet their rental commitments. A point that Members may find of interest is that since the introduction of the previous Government's emergency response, slightly fewer than 7,000 customers have been provided with the rent supplement support. There are an additional approximately 1,100 pending applications. When those figures are compared with the fact that nearly 1 million people are in receipt of support under the wage subsidy scheme or the pandemic unemployment payment, it is clear that only a small percentage of the number receiving other emergency supports have sought or are seeking the emergency rent supplement payment. I encourage people whose circumstances have changed to access the emergency rent supplement payment.

The response from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection to the Covid-19 emergency has ensured flexibility in the rent supplement scheme via specific measures to prevent undue delays in processing applications despite the large number of new cases received over a very short timeframe. The two to three day turnaround of applications ensures that customers do not build up rent arrears. Officers attempt to ensure that applicants' rental obligations are met in full. The scheme offers a safety net within the overall social welfare system by providing assistance to those whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants.

The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance to those who need it who do not qualify for the payment under other State schemes. There are several payments within the scheme, including a once-off exceptional needs payment which can cover rent arrears. I have asked for further flexibility to be shown in that regard should there be a situation whereby we see a substantial debt burden after the pandemic. Where a person has a change of circumstances such as loss of income, that person should notify the relevant authority in the case of a HAP claim or the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for rent supplement to access any payment that can be made.

My Department and the ESRI operate a programme of collaborative research, principally focused on housing economics. Under this programme, researchers from the ESRI and the Department were asked to prepare a research paper exploring the short run implications of the Covid-19 pandemic for the private rental sector. I anticipate that this research will be published shortly. I have not yet received it. That will help to inform me as the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, and the Government in our policy and approach to any potential rent arrears in the private rental sector. Preliminary findings indicate that there has not been a significant build-up of arrears over the period from April to June. Having said that, if the research leads to a contrary finding for those who are in arrears, we will bring forward measures to address and assist in that area.

The Government already has a number of specific supports in place to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on our society. The key factor is to monitor carefully their effect, to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and that we gradually and safely ease the Covid-19 restrictions. I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion. I am acutely aware that we are not through the pandemic just yet. We have vulnerable people in the private rental sector. I want us to build our public rental stock substantially over the next few years but we need an immediate response by Government to deal with any residual rent arrears. I encourage anyone who has lost his or her job, or whose income has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, to use the emergency rent supplement application and scheme, which is there for them. There should not be a large build-up of rent arrears. If there is, based on independent research done by the ESRI, the Government will then seek to address that at the appropriate time with the proper, independent research that we have already sought in our preliminary planning.

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