Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this important topic. Many Deputies have done a great deal of talking and it is time for action. I appreciate that the Minister is doing his best in the position he now holds and I have confidence that he will continue trying to do that. We disagree about certain matters. I am worried that, down the line, this legislation will erode the powers of elected members and local authorities. I am also worried that the LDA might be accountable to no one.

Publicly owned land should be used 100% for social housing. Making some parts of a development private and others affordable and social will not work.

Each development on public lands should be publicly owned. Houses should be built to be rented. Affordable houses should be built to be sold. If possible, sites should be sold to couples or individuals who want to build a house. If they qualify for social housing, they should be allowed to buy a site. I am very worried about the publicly owned lands we have in Killarney, like the very valuable St. Finan's site. I have been striving for many years to ensure this land is transferred from the HSE back to Kerry County Council, from where it came from in the first place, and that local authority houses would be built on that site. We need them in Killarney.

Builders and developers are doing a great job where they can, but they are up against it at present with the cost of materials, especially timber. If a person is looking for timber for a house in Kerry, there is a six-week waiting time and suppliers will not say how much it will cost until it arrives. At the same time, we cannot fell trees in our forestry. In Ireland, no one can get a felling licence, yet in Germany and other countries, there is no such thing as a felling licence. It is well known that when one plants a forestry, it has to be cut down when it is mature and available. Now we are importing timber.

The regulator we have is against one-off houses, people who are trying to build houses themselves. Those people should be supported in every way. There are several designations preventing them from building at this time. It is difficult to get planning in many parts of County Kerry. That is not right because all people want to do is to put a roof over their heads and make a home. They should get every assistance in doing that from us, as elected Members of the Oireachtas, and from the Department, the Minister, the Government and the local authorities. They are finding it very difficult at present.

We have been told that money is no object, that houses will be built and that there is no problem, yet we have major problems with sewerage infrastructure as there are places with no facilities. There are 32 settlements in Kerry that have no sewerage treatment facility. There are 17 towns and villages waiting for extensions to their plants. People cannot build in the town of Kenmare. They can get planning permission but they cannot build there until the treatment plant is extended. Zoning and dezoning designation is what is happening in Kerry. The local authority members have been told they can increase the amount of land zoned around Killarney, but they must dezone land in places like Rathmore and outside of that area. That is not fair, nor is it right because people want to live in their areas. They are being denied that right by two things - zoning designations and the non-existent sewerage facilities. It is a problem in places like Beaufort which is a large village that could expand but has no treatment plant. There are two housing estates there that are in a terrible state. The local authority has to draw the sewage out of the estates every week and bring it into the Killarney treatment plant. Things like that are happening in Currow. There is no treatment plant in Scartaglen or Asdee. There are honest good hardworking people from those places and they deserve to be able to put a roof over their heads. It is not right, and I appeal to the Minister to deal with that issue. The Government says money is not a problem. It may not be nice to speak about sewage in this House, but if people do not have proper facilities, they cannot build homes. It is very important that we raise this matter.

Small-scale builders and developers are finding it very difficult to continue because of the levies, regulations and VAT. They have all those things to deal with while they have to carry the costs. It is very difficult to get money from the banks. The Minister must consider this issue. They have to carry the cost to the very end because stage payments are not allowed anymore. There are many small-scale builders and developers who are going out of business because they cannot continue. If you have no money, you have no fun. That is the situation with small-scale builders and developers now. They cannot afford to carry the full costs.

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