Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Having missed my original slot, I thank the Acting Chairman for accommodating me. I extend heartfelt congratulations to the Minister on his new position. I know why he sought this portfolio. He deeply desires to sort out the housing crisis. That is his agenda and I appreciate that. The initial soundings and messages from the Minister and his approach in his first couple of weeks in office lead me to commend him. He is grabbing the bull by the horns and getting to the bottom of our housing crisis.

It is no harm, however, to remind the Minister that the rent pressure being experienced by renters is not exclusive to Dublin and the urban areas. The Minister is aware of this issue. I will highlight to him the experiences of renters, people on social housing lists and those seeking to purchase a property for the first time in my constituency of Cork South-West. I recently conducted a search on for the area where I am from, Clonakilty town, and the result showed two or three properties for rent. The position now is really tough. I am lucky to be renting in Clonakilty. I have been in that position for a couple of years. If I was looking for a new rental property in Clonakilty or anywhere else in west Cork, it would be tough because the properties simply are not available. There is a chronic shortage of supply and that is the crux of the issue we are facing, especially in my region.

People can forget about searching or any of the other similar websites for a property to purchase. Prices in west Cork are astronomical. For people of my generation, on middle to low incomes, and even above that, most of these properties are completely out of their range. I know the Minister is aware of this because in his contributions so far, and in his approach, he has acknowledged the challenges that people are facing.

There are solutions, however, and I have spoken to the Minister about some of those already. One example, to which most speakers have referred, is the use of over-the-shop premises. I discussed this already with the Minister. It is a challenge. We have spoken about voids. I imagine that over-the-shop premises account for many of the existing voids. We need to get these premises back into use as social housing and on the housing market. In my area at least, the repair to lease scheme has not been successful. Unfortunately, property owners are not availing of it. I am not sure if that is because of the hassle of the works required to bring properties up to habitable condition, but the scheme is not working and people are not availing of it. We need to look at other options.

I would love to see a portion of these over-the-shop premises being brought into use as local authority or social housing. That is difficult, however, because under current legislation, as I understand it, it is almost impossible to separate the ground floor retail unit, café, restaurant or whatever from the area above the ground floor. We are, therefore, at an impasse. We should introduce legislation that would allow local authorities or housing bodies to acquire the over-the-shop premises, while allowing the property owner of the downstairs unit, which may be a profitable business, to carry on. That would be a way of bringing these over-the-shop premises back into use. They are not habitable at the moment. There are empty units on every high street in the country, not just in Cork South-West. This approach would be a way of getting these properties filled. This would have major benefits. There is the obvious fact that housing would be provided for people where there is a chronic shortage of supply.

When we talk about social housing, everyone here, including the Minister, knows that a large proportion of those on social housing waiting lists are single people who may be elderly or a single parent. Those are the types of people who would be perfectly suited to an over-the-shop premises with a one or two-bedroom apartment. That is a viable solution and if the will is there, we can find a way to do it.

The second benefit is that when an over-the-shop premises is filled, it automatically creates much needed footfall on the high street. People walk down the steps from their apartments and walk into cafes, restaurants, newsagents and butcher shops. It would create a ready footfall for the high street and the economic benefits would be massive within a town. I would love to see that explored further. I know it is an issue that the Minister is aware of and for which he is looking to come up with a plan. Legislation that would allow the units to be disposed of separately would go a long way to sorting out that issue.

Another issue is the chronic lack of wastewater infrastructure in our towns and villages, which is stifling and stalling the supply of housing. Ballineen and Enniskean in west Cork are perfect examples. In the past couple of years, small, low density developments of 20 to 30 houses have been refused planning permission because the wastewater treatment infrastructure is not in place. That is happening throughout the country and needs to be solved. There needs to be investment in Irish Water. We may need to consider viable developer-led solutions to wastewater treatment that will not become a liability on local authorities or Irish Water down the line. Something needs to be done because myriad housing developments have been stalled for that reason. It is not only developers that are being affected because local authorities have also run into trouble in that regard. Dunmanway, which is one of the biggest towns in my constituency, has encountered difficulties in developer-led developments and local authority and social housing initiatives. Those kinds of issues can be overcome and we cannot let them get in the way of the provision of social and affordable housing, and housing that is available on the private market. I urge the Minister to take action in that regard.

We need to build public housing. He knows that and has repeatedly referred to the fact that we need to build public housing on public land. I know that is a part of the programme for Government but we need it accelerated. Social housing units will come online shortly in Clonakilty, Skibbereen and some other towns in my area. That will, hopefully, ease the pressure but it needs to be done faster.

I welcome the Minister's affordable housing scheme, which will alleviate pressures on low and middle income earners who cannot even think about purchasing a home at the moment. I was encouraged by he said in the Dáil on that matter last week. I would love to see the Rebuilding Ireland home loan extended and streamlined. It is a bit bureaucratic and a paperwork headache at the moment when one applies for the scheme. Having said that, I know of single people and couples who have availed of it and it has changed their lives. I would like an extension of the parameters of the scheme.

I would also like changes to be made to the mortgage-to-rent scheme. There are families who are having great difficulty with equity and mortgage repayments at the moment. Those families are trying to avail of the scheme but fall outside its parameters at the moment. I would like those parameters extended because we will see a lot of hardship unless that happens.

I will conclude by saying let us get voids into the market and social housing stock. Let us also get over-the-shop premises into social and affordable housing schemes and build public houses on public land. I appreciate the Minister listening to me.

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