Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

In the middle of a housing crisis, any plan to build more homes is welcome, but we also need a plan that matches the scale of the problem and addresses the causes. I will highlight four areas that would make a substantial difference to the families and individuals affected. The first relates to the obvious need to build more social and affordable housing. Every week, I, like other Deputies, am contacted by families seeking a home, cohorts of people on social housing waiting lists, or people who cannot find affordable rented accommodation in their area. They represent only a small fraction of a generation who know that, despite their hard work and savings, there is little hope of them ever getting their own home. This needs to change. We need to ensure all families and individuals have the dignity of housing. We need an Ireland where people can afford to buy a home. The Government’s social and affordable housing targets are welcome. However, they do not address the current need, not to mind the growth in demand annually. Moreover, these targets are over a ten-year period, which is of considerable concern to families who have been on waiting lists for years. We need a greater commitment on this matter, such as legislative-based percentages of annual housing stock being social and affordable.

Second, there is only one reference in the plan to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which is very disappointing. Again and again, organisations and advocates that support survivors of domestic violence have called for a whole-of-government approach to respond to this epidemic. We need joined-up thinking. Housing is one of the main State services with which victims or survivors interact. Domestic and gender-based violence is not just a justice or health matter; it is about safe and secure housing. A housing policy must and should include this cohort of people, who are often in desperate need of housing. It is very concerning and disappointing this has largely been left out of the Government’s plans.

Third, there are numerous mentions of housing for people with disabilities in the plan, but this is against the backdrop of two recent reports that highlight failures of housing policy in this area. A report of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, found that almost one third of people living with a disability experience housing quality issues and are more likely both to report an inability to keep their home warm and to be in arrears on rent or mortgage payments. Furthermore, research from Inclusion Ireland and Independent Living Movement Ireland shows that people with disabilities feel their housing needs are being completely overlooked within the housing crisis and do not feel seen as people with an equal right to independent living.

Many of the more acute issues in this area are housing related. For example, we in the Joint Committee on Disability Matters have seen how a lack of proper housing and supports has resulted in more than 1,300 people with disabilities under the age of 65 living in nursing homes, some in psychiatric wards. This is a disgrace. In a recent appearance before the committee, Inclusion Ireland stated, "One of the biggest barriers facing people with an intellectual disability in accessing social housing is the clear lack of available support services that are required for them to live in their own homes." This is not just a matter of building or adapting homes, it is about the wrap-around supports tailored to the needs of individuals who are entitled under the UN Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities to live independently. Without this integrated and rights-based approach, this plan will be yet another that fails people with disabilities and their families.

The plan also mentions the Department's support of the decongregation of people with disabilities to their own homes. This is only a passing reference, however, without the context of the incredibly low numbers of people who have been moved out of congregated settings. The targets to continue to do that are also very low. There is also an increase in funding for housing adaptation grants, a very useful programme to help people live independently, but these are not available to social housing tenants, a demographic who are often in most need of these grants, and the means test includes the income of adults in the house. This means that in cases where adult children, and sometimes their families, reside with older parents because of the housing crisis, the grant can be denied. The Minister needs to address this issue immediately. On that point, it was very disappointing that he, as the senior Minister, would not come before the disability matters committee to address this issue in advance of the budget. If we are to address this issue, every build, or at least most of them, will need to include some degree of independent supported living.

Finally, the measures on vacancy and dereliction reflect the urgent need for more Government intervention in this area. Too many towns and villages in west Cork have vacant and derelict buildings, which, although they are eyesores and potentially dangerous sites, could support a local business or house another family. This would have a massive impact on our high streets as well, which are becoming more and more derelict. The Government should mobilise every possible mechanism to convert vacant and derelict buildings into homes. Bringing vacant stock back into use should be an essential aspect of addressing the housing crisis. Building new homes takes time and has a considerable carbon footprint compared with adapting existing structures. The failure to introduce a vacant home levy is a missed opportunity to get much-needed homes back into use. The Minister also needs to ensure local authorities do everything they can to address this.

To return to the issue of domestic violence in the context of the housing plan, one issue that has greatly affected people throughout the country relates to the fact that before homelessness became such a big problem in this country, people could go their local community welfare officer to present as homeless, which people fleeing domestic violence often need to do. Because community welfare officers became overrun with that work, due to the increase in homelessness, people now have to turn to their local housing authority. As an example, in Cork South-West, that is located in Clonakilty. If someone lives in Castletownbere, for example, there is not even a bus that goes there and it often takes up to two hours to get there. When people do manage to get there, they are asked to prove they are homeless. As you can imagine, such persons might not have that proof to hand and could have children, pets or anything else with them. They are then given a list of emergency accommodation providers in the area and asked to phone them themselves. When they return, if they have found somewhere, they might be told it is actually too expensive, despite it being on the list. Training is needed in all the local authorities to deal with such cases in other counties. There are multidisciplinary teams who are better able to deal with these issues and they need to be considered in respect of housing because an awful lot of people fleeing domestic violence end up being homeless.

Housing is a fundamental issue that supports vibrant communities and sustainable economies. We need the Government to provide the full investment necessary to achieve this.

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