Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak again on this Bill. I wish to raise a number of matters. The first relates to the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme and how we are dealing with it and landlords. I will put a twist on it. It is important that the landlord is protected as much as the tenant. In some cases if the tenant is not able to pay his or her part to the county council, the HAP scheme will not pay the rest of the money to the landlord. This becomes a problem for everybody. We should conduct an overview of the HAP scheme. We should also examine the income thresholds and the thresholds of support being given to people. There is a discretion to provide a 20% top-up, but the threshold should be lifted and the discretion should be left in place in certain cases.

I have encountered a great deal of uncertainty. Many of the landlords I know never wanted to be landlords but ended up in that position. They end up in a situation where they are trying to pay a mortgage on a property. When they see what is happening, they become very evasive about signing up to the HAP and are, in fact, refusing to do so. That is putting more pressure on people who are trying to find private rental accommodation and trying to get support for that. If the only way we can do this is through HAP, it must work for both the landlord and the tenant so it is fair for everybody.

When we think about planning and the goals of planning, it can be very complex. We must unblock some of the system to ensure it becomes less complex. Issues arise for various reasons when trying to make housing available and to make what is available affordable. The planning process needs to be streamlined. I believe the planning process, in itself, is fine. There is a statutory timeline for the local authority to issue its decision, a statutory time for objections, and An Bord Pleanála, in fairness, deals with the appeals to the board in a relatively reasonable time. However, it all goes wrong when the judicial review occurs. When that starts, there is no end to it in terms of time. There is no statutory obligation for the review to take place within a certain amount of time. This is creating uncertainty. It is eating into confidence in the planning system. In turn, that is turning people away from getting involved in developing housing. The housing market at present is dysfunctional because very little private housing is being developed, especially in the regions. This is something we must examine.

This legislation is being introduced to solve some immediate problems, partly due to Covid-19 and partly due to the Derrybrien situation. It is only the first step. I would support the Minister in reforming the planning legislation to ensure we give confidence back to investment in this country and to people who want to come here. We do not wish to see a repeat of the Apple situation in Athenry, which is in my constituency. Likewise, we do not want a repeat of the Derrybrien situation as well. Again, that is in my constituency. Perhaps they are a plague on everybody in our constituency, but I do not believe so. However, they are two prime examples where we are not getting things right at each end.

I appreciate that the Minister has been in the job for six months. He has a major job to do given all the responsibilities he has. I will support every positive move he makes to ensure the local authorities can make decisions in a timely way, that they have a clear direction and that they are not fearful of legislation or legal activity. I believe there is a legal paradise in the planning process at present where everything goes to the courts for judicial review and we end up with very little in return. The Minister has a job on hand and I will support him in bringing about positive change.

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