Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support the motion. I wish to refer to Question No. 688, which I tabled on 5 April to the Minister for Health, in which I asked him if he would report on the Housing for All plan for an amended fair deal scheme to remove disincentives for sale and rental of vacant properties. The question was answered by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. It states:

My Department is actively collaborating with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and other Departments in the development of a mechanism in relation to the rental of vacant properties "in a way that is targeted, equitable, evidence-based and provides appropriate safeguards for vulnerable older people", as committed to in Housing for All action 19.8. Complex policy questions are currently being resolved in order to meet these criteria and mitigate the high risks and costs associated with unintended consequences, with a view to introducing legislation as soon as possible once this is complete. I expect to be in a position to bring legislation forward in the coming months.

When we receive these replies, we try to dig into the language of what they mean. I take some solace that where the Minister states, "I expect to be in a position to bring legislation forward in the coming months", she means what she says in that regard. There is a legitimate expectation on the part of Members and the public that this legislation would be promulgated as soon as possible for the simple reason that there are so many houses out there that are vacant as a result of people being in nursing homes or participants on an elder care scheme or the nursing homes support scheme. I ask that some urgency be given to that legislation. The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, in responding to the motion might give us some sense of a timeline for when that legislation might be brought before us.

The language used in replies to parliamentary questions is sometimes quite dense. As outlined above, the reply states, "Complex policy questions are currently being resolved in order to meet these criteria and mitigate the high risks and costs associated with unintended consequences...". I have a sense of what that might mean, but I would prefer clarity on what exactly it means and on the stumbling blocks to that happening. If that hurdle was jumped and the legislation was brought before us, it would create a supply line of houses for many people. That seems to be low-hanging fruit. Within our constituencies, we all see the evidence of vacant homes as a result of people being in nursing homes through the nursing homes support scheme. If Government could do that one thing as an early win, perhaps before the end of this year, it would release a lot of houses for people to live in. Ultimately, the motion is about getting people into houses.

I agree with the spirit of the motion and the request for urgency. If the sense of urgency that we applied to the Covid response, where we acted collaboratively, was applied to the getting the supply of housing in this country sorted, the Government would find itself pushing an open door. It would take a lot of the political heat and rhetoric out of the issue. It would also take a lot of the personalities and the egos out of it. In terms of some of the egos that have informed this debate, it is a little bit unedifying, especially when we are trying to provide housing for people who genuinely need it. If that same sense of urgency was applied to this issue, the Government would be pushing an open door with many Deputies across the House. If appropriate, I would like a specific response to the query that I have raised in respect of the nursing homes scenario because that has come up time and again in this motion. If is an overarching theme of this motion. If we could get a real response to that, we would be very grateful.

As of November 2020, there were 61,880 households on the social housing waiting lists. Those are the latest figures we have, but there may be updated figures. The Minister of State and I know that much of our work in constituencies is around advocating for people to access local authority housing. There are unintended consequences of being on a list for those in private rented accommodation. More people are coming to us stating that their rental agreements are coming to an end or that their landlord is selling the property. Many accidental landlords are getting out of the market and that is having an untold knock-on effect. It is not just about a lack of housing supply; it is the other stressor that creates within families as a result of not having the security or fixity of tenure that was so often a staple of political discourse in this country long before even this House was established. The idea of fixity of rent and fixity of tenure, security and a roof over one's head are fundamental principles embedded in the Irish psyche.

I do not want to be negative. I am trying to be proactive and progressive in seeking to support the Government when the Government is worthy of support. I sense from the answer I received to my question on the nursing homes support scheme and the already stated policy of seeking to let into the market those houses or to provide a supply of houses, is that urgency is not there and there are too many technocratic and bureaucratic impediments in the way of doing that. I hope those hurdles can be jumped so that we can release this supply of houses. There needs to be greater urgency. Every Deputy and Senator across the political divide is solution-driven and wants to see that supply.

We will do everything we can within our constituencies to facilitate that supply. However, there needs to be a top-down approach. Arguably, the policy is moving too slowly. I say that respectfully. Fine Gael has been in government for quite a long time. The Government of which the Labour Party was a part between 2011 and 2016 did not have money to build houses. We had to make stark choices. At the latter end of 2015 and in 2016, we made moneys available for house building but we have not seen the throughput of supply since 2016. It is high time we built more houses in this country and sorted out this problem. The money is there, as are the willingness and impetus to do the work. We need to see greater Government action.

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