Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I represent a rural constituency but even in a constituency like mine there is a desperate need for social and affordable housing. Demand is far outstripping supply in every part of my county. In the last two months, the Minister announced three social housing schemes in Roscrea, Cahir and Carrick-on-Suir. Unfortunately, we need much more. In the last year, house prices in my county have risen by 19%. This is completely and utterly unsustainable. Deputy Fitzmaurice spoke about cost increases. Unfortunately, costs have spiralled in the recent past. We are being told there are many reasons for that and we need to analyse exactly what those reasons are. Some experts tell us that the cost of raw materials will come back down. This issue must be closely monitored. Thankfully, the supply of timber to our timber mills is now increasing, and we hope that will have an impact. However, there are many things outside the control of our own economy, such as the cost of steel and other factors. Those costs have gone up by 40% or 50% in the last couple of months. We are told that it is temporary, that prices will level off and that there will be deflation but that must be monitored very closely.

We need to use every apparatus we can to build houses, whether publicly or with private investment. As Deputy Lahart has said, not all developers become millionaires. Much of their enterprise falls on stony ground. Some have made themselves very wealthy men but they have taken chances and have left a testament behind them with the infrastructure they have built.

Land banks must be put in place. In my own town of Thurles, there were opportunities to obtain suitable land banks on the edge of town but they were not bought by public authorities. I have written to the county manager on this issue in the last week to ten days. Nenagh is a thriving satellite town of Limerick and with the motorway its access is greatly enhanced. A small estate on the edge of that town is for sale at the moment in two lots of 6 acres and 44 acres. It is called Riverston estate. I urge the Minister to put pressure on Tipperary County Council to acquire that land. The key ingredient we need in order to be able to build houses is a land bank.

Unfortunately, in a lot of rural towns the biggest impediment to getting houses built at the moment is finding land that is properly zoned and has the proper services. One would not think that would be the case, but it is. In my county, the waste treatment services in towns are totally and wholly inadequate. There are settlements that have no waste water treatment plants, which is hard to imagine in this day and age. There are settlements on the banks of the River Suir with absolutely no waste water treatment facilities. Significant investment must be made in towns with totally and utterly inadequate infrastructure. We need the services to be in place and then we need the land banks. The Minister is making a genuine effort to provide affordable houses.

We have people coming into our constituency offices, including those who have to be on the social housing list. We do our best and lobby for them to get houses but then there are the young couples who are above the income limits for social housing. In Tipperary, that figure is seriously antiquated and needs to be revised upwards urgently. My heart goes out to the people who want to get a mortgage and get their own house. They are paying high rents and it is extremely hard for them to save. Every obstacle is put in their way by the financial institutions to get a mortgage that would allow them to buy a house.

I commend this Bill. It is a genuine attempt to get affordable housing built, which it was a key mantra in our general election manifesto last year. It is what we will be judged on. Every young couple's dream is to be able to own their own house and call it their home. This Bill will allow that to be achieved.

I ask the Minister to press on the municipal districts in all the rural counties to put the land bank and the proper services in place. There needs to be serious investment in this because rural Ireland is seriously lacking in the services that are needed to have housing development continue apace.

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