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

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion, which the Social Democrats will support. It contains a number of sensible proposals and measures which we are happy to support. We would go a little bit further in some areas, but that is a matter of detail.

The fact that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has not shown up for this important debate says a lot about his attitude to the housing crisis and disaster. The fact that we are not surprised he has not shown up shows how he has engaged with the Oireachtas since becoming Minister. He made a rare appearance at the Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to deal with Estimates, but he will not come to the committee to provide updates or answer questions. On that occasion, I asked him how much money from this year was unspent and sent back to central Exchequer funds. He would not provide an answer. I submitted a written question on that, which he has not answered. Today, I asked him about it in the Dáil and he would not answer.

Thankfully, due to a report published by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, we have an estimate that €241 million from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage was unspent in 2022 and is being returned to Exchequer funds. The Department and Minister would not answer questions on that, despite the fact I asked the Minister today whether the figure was accurate. Thanks to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Parliamentary Budget Office, we have those figures. The Department and Minister should answer that question. We have the right to know about that and have accountability from the senior Minister.

What could we have done in 2022 if the €240 million that is being returned to central Exchequer funds had instead been spent on building housing? Affordable purchase homes can be constructed with a subsidy of about €50,000, which means we could have delivered almost 5,000 such homes for people all over the country, homes which are badly needed.

I will put that in context. One of the most successful affordable purchase housing schemes in this country, Marino, was built 100 years ago. It is in my constituency and is an incredibly successful and cohesive community to this day. It was well planned and designed. The money that is being sent back to the Exchequer this year which the Minister failed to spend is the equivalent of four Marinos being delivered. Let us think of the difference that would make to our housing disaster and the families who would benefit from such housing. Families would no longer worry about being evicted from the private rental sector and uprooting their children from school and then having to make new friends and settle into a new school. If the money had been spent, rather than being returned to central Exchequer funds, it would have made a significant difference.

That €241 million does not include the €340 million we know for certain was not spent in 2022 and is instead being carried over into 2023. What could we have done with that? Social homes are delivered by a mix of loans from the Housing Finance Agency and direct capital funding. The money could have provided in the region of 4,000 social homes. What a difference that would make to people in insecure HAP tenancies, those paying rents in the private rental sector they cannot afford and people living in box rooms, overcrowded conditions and in homeless emergency accommodation, all of whom could have moved into social housing tenancies. The €340 million that was not spent and was instead carried over into this year could and should have made a significant difference to all of those individuals and families. It could have taken pressure off the private rental sector and benefited everyone else.

How on earth does the Government justify leaving hundreds of millions of euro that should have been spent on housing last year unspent? There is, of course, no mention of that in the Government's counter motion or contribution to the debate, which was self congratulatory and told us how great it is. It is a slap in the face of everybody affected by the housing disaster that the money was not spent and invested in building homes that could have removed people from stress.

The Government's countermotion and comments during the debate stated Housing for All is working. How could the Minister of State say that? We have the highest ever rents, house prices and number of people living in homeless emergency accommodation. We have the highest ever number of people in their 20s and 30s still stuck in their childhood bedrooms. We have the highest ever amount of money left unspent by any Government that was allocated for housing. They are appalling records on housing, yet the Minister of State has told us Housing for All is working. How can he say that?

We continuously heard the Government narrative from the Taoiseach before Christmas, and again yesterday, that there is a housing problem everywhere and the grass is not greener for people who go elsewhere. Even yesterday, the Taoiseach said there is a problem all over Europe. It is classic deflection. There is a housing problem in other countries, but to suggest it is as bad as here is simply not true.

Not only are rents more expensive in Dublin than in any other capital city in the European Union, data published by EUROSTAT show that the highest rent increases relative to house prices over the past 12 years anywhere in the European Union have been in Ireland.

The narrative that the problem is everywhere and Ireland is the same is not true.

The answer is staring us in the face. You can walk out of here into neighbourhoods and communities close by that were built successfully as public housing in decades gone. The answer is clear in terms of what can be done regarding building social and affordable purchase housing.

The amendment to the motion tells us there will be a commission and a comprehensive review of the private rental sector. The Government has been in office for two and a half years and we have seen all the difficulties in the private rental sector so why is it only telling us now that it will look at this? Where is the action?

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