Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I met the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, last week at a beautiful new housing development in Castlecomer, County Kilkenny. I was delighted to see a number of one-bedroom homes included in that development, particularly from the perspective of accessibility for people with disabilities but also because we need to build more one-bedroom and two-bedroom units in a context where people are living longer and may require smaller homes later in life. It is important that Housing for All should address that need as soon as possible.

I have spoken to the Minister of State previously about how delighted we are in the south east to be getting a technological university. We are exceptionally lucky in County Carlow that we can access two excellent third-level colleges. However, there is going to be a massive lack of housing supply in the area. The drawback of the presence of a technological university will be felt by people who are on the local authority list, in receipt of HAP and finding it hard to find accommodation to rent. Every September, people come into my clinics saying they cannot find a house and there is nothing to rent. That needs to be addressed and it requires looking at supply. We have had 32 cases of homelessness in Carlow in the past few weeks, which is unacceptable. We need to ensure no one is homeless. Everyone should have a home.

I have concerns about the HAP scheme in that people are finding it hard going now because they are paying landlords and local authorities so much. Many are on the breadline. Then there are the people who do not qualify for the housing list, who are also finding it really hard. As the Minister of State will be aware, Carlow is one of the local authorities that has a cap on eligibility for applicants to the list. That is another issue. We need to examine the ceiling to qualify for acceptance on local authority housing lists. Previous speakers referred to affordable housing. Provision of such housing is crucial but we have none of it in Carlow. We must make sure that what is set out in the plan is delivered within a quick timeframe. I have nine or ten cases of people contacting my office who would be delighted to get an affordable house, but there seem to be problems with wastewater and all those issues. We need to address all those problems.

In addition on the issue of affordability, according to daft.ie, County Carlow experienced Leinster's second-highest house price increase this year, at a whopping 14.4%, with the average house price now standing at €226,391. Outside Dublin, we are all seeing a large rise in prices in rural towns such as my own in Carlow-Kilkenny. I know the Minister and the Minister of State are committed to dealing with this but delivery is key if we are to deal quickly with the lack of supply.

In the time remaining, I want to speak about an issue I have raised several times with both the Minister and the Minister of State. Capital funding for Carlow County Council is down by nearly €3 million annually. Indeed, it gets one of the lowest allocations of capital funding in the State from central government. That is unacceptable and everyone in Carlow is paying the price for it. Services are not being delivered because those who deliver them cannot afford to do so. There is a major issue with staffing and service providers cannot afford to pay staff. The only people who will suffer in the long run are the people of Carlow. I am asking the Minister of State, as a representative of Carlow-Kilkenny, to secure more capital funding for Carlow County Council and make sure it gets the staff it deserves.

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