Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of this Bill is to establish the LDA under primary legislation, which, as we know, has been established as an interim entity since September 2018. The LDA is tasked with managing public lands and delivering social rental and affordable homes. However, on examination, as they say, the devil is in the detail.

There are several serious anomalies with the Bill before us today. I am also most concerned about the impact that this Bill will have on hardworking families on low and middle incomes, who are relying on and trusting us to use our public lands to provide good quality and affordable public housing, without high-risk debt. The references to social housing in this Bill are minimal, and there is a real fear that an empowered entity such as the LDA will not deliver for those most in need. This is not good enough.

There were 661 calls to the homeless services and support unit in Wexford in 2020, with well over 2,000 people who qualify for social housing support at the last count. Unfortunately, I do not think that this Bill will adequately address the needs of these people. There are many references to affordable housing in this legislation, but the definition is meaningless. Affordable housing is defined as any property rented or sold below the prevailing market price in the local area. This is a concern. I will use the example of buying a property in my own county of Wexford. According to the Central Statistics Office, at the end of 2020, the average house price in Gorey was €235,708. In 2019, that figure was €222,000. That amounts to an increase of more than €13,000 or 6.1% in a single year. This increase in the market value goes to prove the point that I have made many times. People are being priced out of Dublin and the commuter belt, and are coming to settle in the north of Wexford in particular. Not only does this have profound implications for transport, education, health and infrastructure, but it also results in the overheating of house prices. If the Government's big idea of affordability is only set by the market price, then as the prices rise, so too will the definition of affordability. This leaves behind hardworking families on lower and middle incomes, who have been continually failed by the Government, which has favoured the private sector over the public sector for years.

I am also concerned that local councillors will have their powers eroded and stripped away by this Bill. It is a mistake to ignore the wealth of local knowledge of councillors. It is also a step away from knowing what type of developments and infrastructure are needed locally, which is vitally important to rural Ireland. It also takes away the best public consultation mechanism that we have and involvement in land development. The ESRI stated that the best way to fund the purchase of land for social housing is through the local authorities, and local authorities are best placed to assess demand for affordable housing. Public land belongs to the public, and it should have the opportunity to take part in the democratic process of what happens to that land.

This Bill will cause major trouble down the line. It appears that the Freedom of Information Act and the powers of the Lobby Registration Act will not apply to legal LDA subsidiary entities, also known as designated activity companies. Therefore, I am deeply concerned about the negative impact that this Bill will have on the low and middle income families of Wexford and Ireland. This awful developer-ridden system must never be allowed to resurface again. For those reasons, I believe that this significant change must be made to this Bill before it progresses any further.

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