Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, not only on this Bill but on all the work he has done on housing.

I do not think anyone in this Chamber could disagree with the statement that rents need to be reduced. Between my time in the Dáil and previously on a local authority, I have been elected for 11 years and housing has consistently been the number one issue I have dealt with and it is getting worse year on year.

I agree with much of what Deputy Gino Kenny said about HAP and trying to find HAP properties. It is almost impossible for people to find a property for which HAP is accepted. I was going to take the opportunity to say to the Minister, if he was here, that the HAP system needs to be looked at. Perhaps that message could be passed on because, when a landlord accepts HAP, that is a celebration in itself. Much of the time someone will not get that money until the end of the month. If, for example, a person moves into a property on 1 October, the payment is not made until the last Wednesday of the month. People often do not have the money themselves. That is in respect of people who qualify for HAP. A large number do not qualify for any supports and they are trying to save, potentially for a mortgage. It is absolutely impossible to be in the private rental market while saving for a mortgage. It is totally unfair that just because one is in that situation, one is locked out of the housing market.

There was a scheme a number of years ago whereby local authorities were able to provide mortgages for those with a 3% deposit. These were for people who could prove they were able to pay rent but who perhaps just were not able to come up with a 10% deposit. We need to start looking at imaginative measures such as this again. We have gone totally backwards on housing. We do not ever hear of affordable housing schemes, let alone affordable rental schemes. At least if rents were affordable for people, they could hang on a little longer on the housing list. One of the biggest issues we see day in and day out is people saying they do not mind if they have to wait but that they cannot afford to make up the difference in HAP or cannot find a landlord who will take HAP. A whole bunch of other people say they do not qualify for anything. Even though they might be on modest incomes, they are totally locked out of any supports. People are living with their parents well past a normal age, and with their own kids. It is totally unacceptable. That does not even cover people facing homelessness, in emergency accommodation or in totally unsuitable accommodation but who are afraid for their lives to open their mouths for fear they will be put on notices to quit.

Those are the main points I wanted to make. Disappointingly, the Government has stated it will not support the Bill. There needs to be solutions to housing, affordability and the building of public housing. Rents are a massive part of this because if people can afford to pay their rent, it will lead to fewer notices to quit. As Deputy Ó Broin said earlier, it puts less pressure on the whole system if people can afford to pay. There cannot be a Deputy here who does not hear from people day in and day out about notices to quit, not being able to find a place, or unsuitable accommodation. It is a major stress for everybody in those situations. I do not know how many more times we have to talk about this here or how many more debates we have to have on it, but we really need to see some solutions. It is disappointing that the Government will vote against this.

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