Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. What my party colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, has proposed, is as timely as it is necessary. Our Bill on co-living is clear in its ambition, namely to ban this type of building scheme. This is a type of living arrangement that when he was in Opposition, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, called "bonkers", as Deputy Ó Broin said. When he became Minister, he could have initiated a ban but rather, he announced a review. This neither here nor there response has emboldened those who wish to create such tenements. Since then, we have seen an increase in the number of planning applications for these type of constructions. His Government colleagues in the Green Party called it a profit-driven and inhumane model. I have no doubt that people will be keen to see how the Green Party will vote on today's Bill.

I had the misfortune of living in shared co-living type accommodation in the past. I would not wish it on my worst enemy. It is not something we should be considering. We need to get real here. We cannot return to dodgy bedsits or the tenements of the past. Working people deserve much better. We need to build local authority homes, such as the type of homes some of us grew up in. We also need to deliver real affordable homes, ones that are affordable for workers and their families. When referencing co-living, the document, Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards For New Apartments, says that shared living:

Comprises professionally managed rental accommodation, where individual rooms are rented within an overall development that includes access to shared or communal facilities and amenities.

If one was to remove the words "rental" and "rented" from the above, it becomes hard to assess whether this is referring to a living complex for young professionals or the wing of a prison. There was no need for a review. There was a need for a ban on this type of living arrangement.

These developments push up the price of land. They are expensive and one would only be provided with a private living space the size of a car park space. Yesterday, the Government moved to level 5 restrictions to cope with the spread of the Covid-19 virus. I am curious to know how this would work in a co-living space. Would the residents be confined to their cells?

Another key aspect of the Bill is our desire to ban the substandard design of build to rent properties. We were advised that a significant aspect of the build to rent sector is its ability to accelerate the delivery of new housing on a greater scale, which is welcome. However, one must ask why renters are not afforded a high quality space to live in. Why does a renter not have the additional floor space that those in other complexes are afforded? Why does the maximum of 12 apartments per floor not apply to build to rent construction? Why is the renter, who would pay high rent in an urban dwelling, only entitled to substandard living space? If this Bill is implemented, it would protect renters and put an end to the co-living fiasco proposed by the previous Minister. I urge Members of all parties and none to support Sinn Féin on this Bill.

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