Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

4 o’clock

I am delighted that Housing for All has finally been published. Now, the real work gets under way. Fianna Fáil in government always had a track record of building houses and ensuring that the most marginalised people in society are looked after. We again see that at the centre of Government in Housing for All. I am glad that the Department, led by the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is leading this initiative. We are hanging our coats and our hats on this because, when this Government's term ends, this is what we will be judged on. We hope Covid will soon become a distant memory. Our vaccination rate is at 92% and we are at a point where it is quite manageable. We are now down to the real issues: housing, health and homelessness. This plan will see 33,000 new houses per annum. Some 10,000 of these will be social houses and 6,000 will be affordable. That is positive.

I will bring up two more localised topics. The first relates to Ennistymon, a largish town in north Clare. There is a derelict convent building in the town. I am sure there are similar buildings in many towns in the west and east. Inagh Housing Association has come up with a plan to develop accommodation units for the elderly on the site. It wants to form a partnership with Clare County Council. Older or ageing people and elderly people - I believe the terms refer to different categories of people, although I do not know if others use them that way - will be able to live together in a supported environment. The plan has run into some stumbling blocks. At the moment, the housing waiting list figures for north Clare suggest that there are only 22 people over the age of 60 in need of housing. I do not believe that figure captures the real data on people who might want to live in this accommodation. People in the existing housing stock who may wish to transfer should be considered. People who live in remote rural parts of north Clare might want to move to more comfortable accommodation in their later years.

I believe I have a minute left, although I am not great with the clock. I will conclude by talking about the national planning framework. This was set in a time before Covid, when people were largely living in cities and towns. They have now returned home. They have come back to counties such as Clare in the west. The national planning framework needs to be overhauled. Population targets and the fact that towns and village without sewerage schemes are to have zoning removed pave the way for a decimation of rural Ireland. We have to stand up for rural planning. There is a surge in the number of planning applications being made to rural county councils at the moment because people fear what is coming down the line. We have to stand up for rural development and rural planning. It is a God-given right. I know that term is used and abused but it is a God-given right to live in the community you have grown up in and to live down the road from your parents to support them as they move on in life. It is a right we should uphold at all times in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

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