Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to follow up on what Deputy Naughten has said.

The shared equity loan scheme is one of a suite of measures needed to provide houses at affordable prices. There will be risk attached to it and we will need to manage that risk as we go along. The scheme needs to be brought forward in a way that it can calibrated as we go along to make sure we do not cause inflation.

I have heard people speak about the problem with housing and the political nuances about Fianna Fáil, etc. I do not buy into that. Housing is above politics. We need to provide housing. There are a few facts, namely, that the private housing market is dysfunctional and that developers are not building houses because the cost of building has increased enormously. This is due, in part, to the increased building regulations in terms of heat loss and the requirement to bring a house up to a passive standard. This is all very fine but it is adding cost to building a house and, therefore, the developer of the house needs to get a return on his or her income. I am not advocating for developers. Rather, I am saying to the Minister that we need to look at how the costs are arising. The cost of connection of utilities to a house and the application for planning permission has increased because of the requirement for more surveys, studies, assessments and screenings. These are all adding to the overall cost of a house.

There is also a lack of infrastructure. I heard a Deputy say that the price of a house in Dublin is €600,000. In my constituency, it is possible to purchase a family home in an estate for €250,000. The problem is more houses cannot be built because of a lack of infrastructure. Irish Water has let us down. We do not have the necessary wastewater treatment schemes in our towns and villages to enable regeneration. There is other housing that is derelict but there is no incentive for young people to buy and turn these properties into homes where they can live and raise their families and add to communities. There has been much talk about the town and village renewal scheme. We need to incentivise and encourage people to buy a second-hand property that is derelict. There is nothing wrong with doing that. We seem to be fixated on the build of new houses.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland, SCSI, produced a report recently which states that 75% of the space over ground floor level in Dublin city is vacant. We have all of this space but we are not developing it. This begs the question, "What are we doing wrong?" There is a way to do this right. We need to look at all of the options and the political response must be multifaceted. We need to look at incentivising first-time buyers, who would be ideal candidates, to buy and refurbish existing houses in towns and villages, provided the sewerage infrastructure is in place. Irish Water is totally underfunded such that whatever funding it is getting, which is a great deal, it is spending it in the areas of population. We need investment in the growth centres such as Craughwell, Corofin, Abbeyknockmoy, Adrahan and Labane, where there are people who want to build housing but are being prevented from doing so. I have said so many times that An Bord Pleanála is refusing to grant planning permission owing to a lack of wastewater treatment plants. It is important that we do something, other than reports and reviews, to make sure this happens.

I have heard many people giving out about the relevant legislation. As politicians, we have to ensure there is one piece we can control and also that the benefit goes to the people who want to purchase. We have much work to do in the area of rejuvenation to ensure one of our major assets, vacant and derelict sites, are brought back into operation in terms of the provision of housing for the future and thus regenerate the towns.

See this speech in context