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

This is a very important debate. It is terribly important that we raise the following matters. On behalf of Kerry County Council, I will say that we desperately need more one-bedroom units built in our county. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has acknowledged that. When I raised this issue previously, the Taoiseach agreed that the Department would finance more of these units, if possible. With regard to planning permission for rural dwellers, people who are in a position to build a house for themselves should be accommodated in every single, solitary way possible.

We will have to turn this whole thing around of being against rural planning and putting every obstacle in the way and instead encourage people to live, if they can, in rural areas. There needs to be a new tenant purchase scheme for people living in local authority houses. I was thankful when a tenant purchase scheme was reintroduced by Enda Kenny but I was disappointed by the content of it. Over 80% of the people living in those houses were not able to avail of it. What good is a scheme if people cannot buy their houses? I want that to be looked at. I know it is under review but, my goodness, it has been under review for a very long time. I want it to move on.

I listened intently to all sides of the House. People in here know I do not go out of my way to criticise others but there seems to be a mentality of people talking about developers and builders as if they are some awful type of people. I have no difficulty in the world saying that, over the past couple of days, I met with a builder in County Kerry. There are other politicians who, if they had met with a builder, would nearly want to hide from him. I am delighted I met him. He is a great man and is building houses in County Kerry for many years. He tells me he will do his best to build one-bedroom accommodations and make them available for our local authority or voluntary housing agencies. This is a reputable man who, thankfully, survived the bust and all that. We want respectable builders, developers and people to create employment and turn ground into housing. That is important. The whole thing that we cannot be seen to talk to developers or builders is nonsense.

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