Chris Andrews (Dublin Bay South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Cian O’Callaghan for bringing forward this important private members' Bill to repeal Part V leasing. We are in the depths of a housing crisis and have been for many years. I see the reality of this crisis every day across the communities in Dublin Bay South. There is a chronic shortage of affordable housing for first-time buyers. Public housing such as Glovers Court, Bishop Street, Cuffe Street and Mercer House are all within 500 m of Leinster House and have all been condemned as substandard by the European Committee of Social Rights. I do not know of a single flat complex across the constituency that could be deemed good, liveable and safe accommodation. There is public housing with extreme mould and dampness. Raw sewage flooded over a public area in Canon Mooney Gardens in Ringsend over the weekend. Rat invasions are an everyday issue for tenants living in flats. There are dangerous electrics and regular flooding within the flat complexes themselves. The list is endless and it is not acceptable to expect families to live in these conditions.

We have vultures funds swooping in and buying up new houses in bulk that should be homes for first-time buyers. We facilitate these vulture funds and let them enjoy generous tax breaks and avoid paying corporation tax or capital gains tax and the full rate of stamp duty. Where is the break for ordinary working families, like the generous tax breaks these vulture funds have got? When will enough be enough? Do working families not deserve a break too?

Unlike other crises we have faced and are still facing as a society, few see an end to this housing crisis through the policies being developed by this Government, given its record. Leasing for Part V arrangements is yet another example of policies to suit developers and investors at the expense of the State. The cost of renting in this State has increased by in excess of 60% over the past ten years, more than four times the average increase across the eurozone. By allowing leasing for Part V arrangements we are effectively locking local authorities into long-term leasing arrangements at a time when rents nationwide have hit a peak even greater than that experienced during the Celtic tiger era. It is beyond me how anyone could view this as a wise strategy for local authorities to use when tackling this housing crisis. It is plain to see that this is another example of developer-led housing policy to suit investors at the expense of the State. This Government should put in place supports for local authorities to build their own housing on their own sites, thereby providing public housing to an appropriate standard because the standard and quality are not acceptable.

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