Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was thinking about the number of times we have spoken on this subject in my time in this House, particularly in the last ten years or so. It looks as if we will continue to speak about it for some time. I give credit to the Government - as I would of course, and as one would expect of me – for the efforts being made to tackle this subject, and to make the money available to deal with the problem. This is notwithstanding the fact that the problem is getting away from us at the same time. It is like chasing a runaway horse. If the horse would stand still, we would catch up much quicker. The same applies to the housing situation. That is the way it has been in my time in public life. Mention was made about how people qualify for what I call “local authority housing”. I refuse to accept the term “social housing”, because it carries with it a stigma and a suggestion that it is something for nothing. It is not. The person who gets what is now referred to as a “social house” has to pay for it, end of story. They have no problem with that. They are proud to pay for it. In fact, they are also proud to buy their home, when they have the financial ability to do so.

We have come on quite a distance. When I started off in this business a long time ago, a woman with one child would never have gotten house. That was until I, in my small way as a member of a local authority, decided in conjunction with a progressive county manager that in this scenario we would be housing two people and not one person plus nobody. That became the norm throughout the country in a short period of time. This proves that in each small way we can improve the situation by virtue of our ability to deal with the situation as we find it on the ground. That still prevails.

My colleague across the House and I were on the same committee seven or eight years ago. At that stage, the situation was different. An emergency response was needed then. Unfortunately, there was not a great deal of money available. Emergency housing would have been beneficial at that time, if it had been possible to deliver it, but it was not. It was unfortunate that we were coming out of a financial crash that left the place like a desert. I am not blaming anybody for it. It just happened. We had to deal with it as we saw fit.

I will revert to the situation that prevailed before. Monitoring of the issue is important. Tweaking of the issue in response to that monitoring is equally important. It is my hope that the Minister of State would aspire to do so in the weeks, months, and years ahead, as particular issues will arise.

I am thinking of the list system. We seem to be preoccupied with lists in this country. We have a waiting list for everything now. We have waiting lists for health services, waiting lists to get into schools in some places, and waiting lists for housing. The lists seem to get longer and longer as time goes by. The problem, as far as I can see it, affects young people and young adults in particular. Youth is a short window in the life of a person. Soon, they move into adulthood and inevitably, they move further away. In order for their confidence in society and the system to be maintained, it is essential that we respond to their needs within a reasonable timeframe. For example, it is appalling to tell people, as has been the case all over the country, that if they require a home, they should come back in ten years and then we will be able look after them. That is not a new thing. I am not suggesting it is happening only now but it has always been the case. It is utterly crazy and disheartening to the people concerned who often give up. They say that there not much sense in waiting.

I want to point out one or two quick things in the time available. I wish somebody would arrange for a debate on housing in this House, so that we could make a substantial contribution. Currently, we are having debates over a 20-minute or half-hour period. This would not have happened years ago at all. We would have had a longer debate on the issue, and everybody could speak on it. That is all unfortunately gone now, in the interest of expediency, in doing the job quicker, and so on.

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