Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The contributions we heard recently from Government backbenchers on this subject have been meaningful and considered. They have made some valid comments on vacancy, dereliction, the problem of local authorities not using the one-stage approval process for social housing projects worth under €6 million, and the contrast between what local authorities are saying and what the Department is saying. I say there have been considered contributions because they contrast with what we heard in the first half-hour of this debate. Instead of making a serious contribution, offering a serious, detailed analysis of Housing for All and giving his view on what is working well, what is not, and what he is doing to address the challenges, the Minister used most of his time to take what seemed to me to be some sort of delusional misstep from reality, praising everything in Housing for All as brilliant. The rest of his time was used just to attack the main Opposition party. The people suffering deeply from the housing crisis deserve nothing less than a serious, detailed consideration of Housing for All and the housing issue. It is disrespectful in the extreme to people who are suffering from housing problems to see the type of behaviour in question. It is welcome that others here are well able to make serious and meaningful contributions. I acknowledge that. Many in this House are able to contribute meaningfully. It is what we should all be doing.

For the Minister to have been smirking and laughing for most of the time when people were raising serious points, before he left after 15 or 20 minutes of Opposition remarks, was not an appropriate response. He is absolutely entitled to disagree but the matter should be treated with the utmost seriousness, which it deserves. The fact is that, in the current housing disaster, the Government is not meeting the targets it set itself. It is not spending the housing budget it has allocated for itself. When I see some members of the Government – not all of them, to be fair – I wonder whether they do not realise the depths of this crisis and what is happening now.

The various housing metrics show that in the past year new rents have increased by 9%, house prices by 8%, and homelessness by a staggering 32%. The number of children who are homeless and living in emergency accommodation has increased by 47%. Homelessness has a profound impact on their development and well-being. At the same time as they have been homeless, the profits of the largest developer in the country have gone up by 84%. Rents have never been so high, nor have housing prices and the number who are homeless. These are not accidents; they are the results of decisions. This is having a devastating impact on people who are just trying to live a decent life and their families.

Let me give an example of a person who has been affected badly by the housing crisis. It is by no means an example of someone who is suffering the most, or anything like that. Niall is a lecturer in Trinity College, which is just down the road from here, and he is living in hostels because he cannot find somewhere more secure to live. Over the past few weeks, according to him, he has developed a nagging cough because of his accommodation, which he has shared with up to ten people at a time, including with stag party groups in dormitories. He states that the kitchen and laundry facilities are dismal and that it is hard to eat healthily. He states that there is nowhere to sit and get work done in the evening and that he is going to college more and more tired each day. This was not acceptable when it was students who could not find somewhere to live and who consequently lived in hostels mixed in with tourists and stag party groups. It is not acceptable now when it is a lecturer or anyone else who has nowhere secure to live.

Homelessness outreach volunteers doing voluntary work in Dublin report time and again that when they are trying to help people to get into emergency accommodation, no beds are available. Last week, they reported that a three-month-old and a two-year-old were left out on the streets at night as there was nowhere for them to go. When the volunteers rang the various homelessness agencies, the only advice they could give was that the families should go to a Garda station. That was the only advice because everywhere was full. This is the reality of the homelessness and housing situation right now.

Over the weekend, we saw in the Business Postcoverage by Cillian Woods of what has been happening in an estate in Swords. It came to light only because a Deputy who lives there was selling his home and began to see a pattern. What the article describes could well be, and presumably is, happening in many other estates around the country.

On that estate in Swords, where homes are typically sold for approximately €350,000, one house was sold this year for €850,000 and another, incredibly, for €1.7 million, both to investment funds. These homes were originally bought by the Davy Platform ICAV from a company called Manustin Trading V Limited. Another seven homes on the estate were bought from BAE Systems, a British weapons manufacturer. A total of €5.3 million was spent buying up nine homes on the estate, giving an average of approximately €592,000 per home last April, when the median price in the area was €352,000. This is mind-boggling stuff. It is highly plausible that the reason such high prices are being paid out for homes is that the investment funds that own them will likely be able to avail of 25-year long-term leases with the local authority. However, that does not explain the figure of €1.7 million for one property. We know the local authority in the area is long-term leasing 18 homes on the estate. I raised this issue with the Taoiseach earlier and, from his comments, he seemed to think this is okay because it is one investment fund selling to another. I think it is treating these homes as financial assets, which is not in any way okay.

There have been reports recently of 211 apartments being constructed in Clonsilla that were funded entirely by loans through the State's Home Building Finance Ireland. Those 211 homes are being sold on to an investment fund called Urbeo. Given this is being done through State-financed loans, these homes could and should have been built for affordable purchase, cost-rental or social housing. Using State-backed finance in such a way that homes end up in the hands of investment funds is completely and utterly wrong and indefensible. It is incredibly bad value for money and clearly pushes up the price of housing. It would be much better for the State or local authorities to buy homes directly rather than creating these win-win situations for investment funds.

The other issue I raise is one about which we should have heard from the Minister. I asked him about it last week but he would not comment. We know from media coverage that memorandums given to the Cabinet sub-committee show the Government will fall significantly short this year on the targets set for delivering affordable and social homes. A capital underspend on housing of €240 million in 2022 is forecast in the budget documents that were published last week. We also know from the August fiscal monitor that capital expenditure on housing is more than 20% lower than it was this time last year. How is it possible, with everything that is going on, that there is such a capital underspend on housing? Why is it that the Minister comes in here and does not explain these issues to us or give a serious analysis of them and a serious explanation as to how he is committed to tackling them? The contribution he made earlier does not in any way reflect the seriousness of this crisis or the seriousness with which most other speakers have treated it in the debate so far.

See this speech in context