Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No.1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

"recognises that:

— the Government's Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland (Housing for All) is working, with more new homes built in 2022, the first full year of the Housing for All plan, than any year in the last decade;

— supply is key to improving our housing system and it is increasing, with almost 30,000 homes built last year, an increase of 45.2 per cent from 2021 (20,560) and 41.3 per cent from 2019 (21,134), and 5,250 or 21 per cent higher than the Housing for All target of 24,600 for 2022;

— when verified and published in the coming months, figures will show more social housing new builds were delivered in 2022 than in any year in decades, with the highest number of first-time buyers, the first ever Cost Rental units at scale, and thousands of affordable units for the first time in over a decade;

— a record €4.5 billion in State housing investment in 2023 will ensure the substantial uplift in supply in 2022 can be maintained and exceeded, with 9,100 direct build social homes and 5,500 affordable homes, investment of €1.3 billion in support affordability measures, and the delivery of more affordable purchase and Cost Rental homes in 2023; and

— having regard to progress already made, the Housing for All action plan commits to reviewing the national housing targets and projections when the full Census 2022 is published in May this year, with refreshed targets (with subsets for social, affordable and market delivery) reflecting need and demand, and scaling-up to ensure optimal levels of sustainable supply over the lifetime of the plan in line with increased capacity in the construction sector;

acknowledges that 2022 is the first full year of affordable housing delivery in a generation, and increasing the supply of affordable homes is key to improving our housing system, which will be achieved through a mix of new or extended initiatives, including the 'First Home' Affordable Purchase Shared Equity Scheme, Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme, the Help to Buy initiative and the expanded Local Authority Home Loan schemes;

further acknowledges that, with regards to tackling supply and affordability issues in the rental market:

— Cost Rental housing, a new form of State-backed secure, long-term rental tenure with rents targeted at a minimum of 25 per cent below open market rates, is being delivered at scale and hundreds of Cost Rental homes are now tenanted;

— the Government will commission a comprehensive review of the private rental sector, to take account of the significant regulatory changes over the past several years and secure an efficient, affordable, safe, and secure framework for landlords and tenants, and will be completed by the end of June 2023;

— tenancy protections have been enhanced, with increased rent caps in Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs), restricted deposit amounts, extended notice periods, and tenancies of unlimited duration;

— crucially, the period from the date of receipt of a 'no fault' Notice of Termination for a tenant to submit a dispute to the Residential Tenancies Board for resolution has also been increased from 28 days to 90 days; and

— to tackle accommodation shortages, the Government is strengthening regulatory controls on short-term lets with a ban on the advertising of non-principal private residences in RPZs for short-term letting purposes, where the necessary planning permission is not in place;

further recognises that, with regard to vacant properties:

— bringing vacant homes into use is a key Government priority and real progress is being made, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage last week published the Vacant Homes Action Plan 2023-2026, which outlines this progress and details new actions that will be implemented to continue to return as many vacant properties back to use as possible, increasing the supply of housing available, and revitalising local communities;

— measures already taken by the Government include expanding the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, funding full-time vacant homes officers in every local authority, exemptions to planning permissions to convert vacant commercial premises to residential use, and enhancing the Nursing Homes Support/Fair Deal Scheme to incentivise the selling or renting of unused homes; and

— while the overall trend in vacancy rates is downwards, work is continuing to bring as many vacant properties into use as possible, with measures included in the action plan such as a €150 million Urban Regeneration and Development Fund for local authorities to acquire vacant or derelict properties and sites for re-use or sale, and to ensure homes don’t lie vacant, a new local authority-led programme is being developed to help them buy or compulsory purchase vacant homes in their areas and resell them on the open market; and

furthermore acknowledges that, with regard to addressing homelessness:

— the number of people accessing homeless supports is a serious concern for the Government, and this is being actively addressed by:

— increasing social and residential housing supply, as this is key to eradicating homelessness, and guaranteed State investment of over €4 billion a year in housing is aimed at increasing supply;

— funding of over €215 million being put in place to deliver homeless prevention measures, emergency accommodation, and support households to successfully exit homelessness, an increase of 10 per cent on 2022; and

— commencing critical initiatives, which include a new voids programme with increased funding, a reinstated delegated sanction allowing local authorities pursue appropriate acquisitions, and modifications to the Repair and Leasing Scheme, opening up more opportunities to include conversion of commercial units to residential, and increasing the number of Housing First tenancies for those entrenched in homelessness;

— while Government has legislated to protect renters facing homelessness by preventing 'no fault' tenancy terminations from taking place this winter, the long-term answer to these accommodation challenges remains an increased and sustainable supply of new homes, such as through the State-led expanded social and affordable housing programmes operating under Housing for All;

— the Government continues to closely monitor the operation of the rental market and the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004-2022; and

— Housing for All recognises the particular challenges of homelessness for children and their families and sets out actions for them to exit homelessness, and work is underway to identify families experiencing long-term homelessness that have complex support needs, to provide them with enhanced tenancy sustainment supports to help them exit homelessness and maintain their homes."

Nothing is more important to this Government than tackling the housing crisis head on. I accept that challenges remain but it is also important to acknowledge the significant progress that is being and has been made since the publication of Housing for All in September 2021. The Labour Party’s motion does not recognise this progress and that is why we have put forward our countermotion today. I accept the points made by Deputies Bacik and Nash on working together, which is important. The Government is happy to give consideration to constructive proposals to address the housing crisis and any such proposals are most welcome.

Housing for All is the single biggest intervention that has been made in housing in the history of the State. The secured and sustained levels of investment are unparalleled. They will support delivery of at least 300,000 new homes by 2030. We will build on the substantial progress of 2022 and deliver more than 9,000 direct-build social homes and 5,500 affordable homes. Some €1.3 billion will be spent on affordability measures and supporting home ownership in 2023.

Increasing supply is key to resolving the challenges facing housing in this country. This Government is tackling it head-on and by any objective measure, is doing so successfully. Almost 30,000 homes were built last year. That is an increase of 45% on 2021 delivery, or an additional 5,251 new homes beyond our Housing for All target of 24,600 for the year. There remains a very strong pipeline of delivery in place for 2023 with nearly 27,000 commencement notices received in 2022 and more than 40,000 homes granted planning permission in the 12 months to September. We are ahead of our supply numbers plan to date and I am confident that this will continue right throughout 2023, despite the many challenges which we face.

The Labour Party motion calls on the Dáil to recognise that a generation of young people are locked out of home ownership or secure and affordable tenancies. However, it is important to put on the record of the House some of the key measures that have already been brought forward to address the affordability challenges faced. We have established the First Home shared equity scheme to help people who are stuck in a rental trap to buy their own home. We have expanded the local authority home loan and also extended the help to buy scheme, with up to €30,000 available for first-time buyers. We introduced a renter's tax credit worth €500 for each renter in budget 2023. The first affordable purchase homes in well over a decade were delivered through local authorities last year and the fresh start principle has been established in State housing schemes to support divorced and separated people. We have also made cost rental a reality, with hundreds of tenants now in homes with rents at least 25% below the market price. We will see a further 1,850 cost-rental tenancies come on stream in 2023.

Of course, as I said, challenges remain. The past year has seen some extraordinary challenges arising from the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, and rising interest rates. Although Housing for All is a comprehensive plan that covers all aspects of the housing system, the Government has to be both proactive and pragmatic when it comes to emerging issues. It was important to build in provisions to make sure the plan continues to be relevant over its lifetime and a focus kept on the core issues and challenges we face. It is a living plan. To this end, we have committed to review Housing for All annually. We published the first review of the plan in November 2022. The updated plan identifies 33 priority actions to directly or indirectly support the supply of well-built, sustainable homes for people up and down the country. It will activate and accelerate the delivery of housing supply and deliver on the fundamental reforms set out in the plan.

Housing for All currently sets out annual targets of overall housing delivery to 2030. This clearly shows a building up towards 40,000 homes per year. It is disingenuous to suggest we can simply double targets and delivery overnight. That is wholly unrealistic, misleading, and helps no one. I note the Labour Party motion suggests a target of 50,000. Nobody is suggesting 30,000 homes is enough to meet our current needs but it is a significant first step as we build capacity within the construction sector to help us meet our housing needs. We have committed to reviewing Housing for All targets. Revised targets will be informed by the full census data when it published in May this year. We will take full account of the significant changes in the economic and social landscape since Housing for All only 16 months ago.

Regarding the private rental sector, the Labour Party motion calls on Government to enact the Residential Tenancies (Tenants' Rights) Bill 2021. The motion does not acknowledge the legislative changes the Government has already introduced to enhance tenancy protections, including capping rent increases in rent pressure zones, restricting deposit amounts, extending notice periods, and introducing tenancies of unlimited duration. There is still more that needs to be done and I acknowledge we need to increase the supply of rental properties into the sector. To help us do this, and to secure an efficient, affordable, safe and secure framework for landlords and tenants, we have commenced a comprehensive review of the private rental sector to take account the significant regulatory changes over the past several years. The review will be completed by the end of June this year.

In relation to bringing back vacant dwellings for re-use, we recently published a new vacant homes action plan and launched a new €150 million fund for local authorities to tackle vacancy and dereliction to support the plan. We introduced a new grant of up to €50,000 for vacant and derelict properties nationwide to help people with the cost of buying these homes. We are also developing a new programme to help local authorities to buy or compulsorily purchase vacant homes in their areas and resell them on the open market.

Reducing and preventing homelessness remains a top priority for the Government. Increasing supply, particularly supply of new social homes, will be key to addressing homelessness. In 2021, 9,183 social homes were delivered. When verified and published in the coming months, figures will show that more social housing new builds have been delivered in 2022 than in any year in the last half a century.

In budget 2023, we allocated over €215 million in funding to deliver homeless prevention measures and emergency accommodation and to support households to exit homelessness successfully, an increase of 10% on 2022.

We also introduced a winter eviction ban, which the Labour Party motion calls on the Government to extend to the end of 2023. We do not take these measures lightly or without fully considering their potential impact; responsible Government simply does not have the luxury of doing so.

The winter eviction ban is a short-term emergency measure. It affords time for increased housing supply to come on stream and to reduce the burden on homelessness services and the pressure on tenants and the residential tenancies market.

While there are currently no proposals to bring forward further legislative proposals, we continue to monitor closely the operation of the rental market and the Residential Tenancies Acts and further measures that might be required while further additional supply comes on stream.

The motion also call on the Government to endorse and rapidly progress Labour's Housing (Homeless Families) Bill 2017. Housing for All recognises the particular challenges of homelessness for children and their families and sets out actions to support them to exit homelessness. The existing system provides for the emergency accommodation needs of homeless families with children. The current homeless assessment arrangements give housing authorities the flexibility to respond to the various needs of families who present to them, and housing authorities make every reasonable effort to address their accommodation needs with enhanced tenancy sustainment supports.

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and I, together with my colleagues across Government, fully appreciate the scale of the challenges facing the country. However, we are making substantial progress and we will continue to do so. I can assure the House we are fully committed to addressing the challenges ahead in Housing for All and that it remains central to our success.

I look forward to the contributions from Deputies. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will close the debate for the Government.

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