Dáil debates

Tuesday, 15 December 2020

Homeless Prevention Bill 2020: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

7:15 pm

Photo of Richard O'DonoghueRichard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the introduction of this legislation by Sinn Féin. That party is trying to give dignity to those who are about to be evicted through no fault of their own. The Bill highlights the crisis that happens before a person is made homeless. While I acknowledge the noble sentiment behind it, the problem is bigger than provisions to safeguard people before they are made homeless. There is a great need for support from county councils for those who are about to be evicted.

I am sure that homelessness is at the top of the agenda in the constituency office of every Deputy. Deputies need to be able to talk to the housing officers of county councils about homelessness in our constituencies. This is a national crisis. We totally lack strategy. The Engineers Ireland State of Ireland 2020 report states that 52% of the cost of building houses goes to the Government in the form of taxes. This is not economically viable and cannot be sustained. Why not look at models like that proposed under the Limerick 2030 plan and waive taxes on the construction of affordable houses? The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, predicts that just to stand still we will need to build 28,000 houses per annum for the next 20 years.

We need to step outside the box here and look at this from the point of view of providing houses for people who are homeless. At a meeting of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage earlier, I stated that my own son is seeking to rent a house because he has a child, my grandchild. No rental property that is affordable for a young couple is available in County Limerick. He also tried County Cork. We need to look at a business model because the Government's model is not working.

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