Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The bottom line is that affordable purchase and cost-rental homes are required immediately. Yes, the figures published in the Housing for All quarter 2 2023 progress report showed exceeded commencement targets but there are many people right now who do not have a home. In the most up-to-date homelessness report, there were 9,018 people accessing local emergency accommodation in Ireland. These homelessness figures underline, yet again, the need for an emergency housing budget in budget 2024. Various reasons are given for presenting as homeless, including the landlord selling the property, relationship breakdowns, overcrowding and rent arrears. Yet, while the Government's ten-year housing plan may bring relief in the long term, more immediate action is needed to relieve the burden on renters.

The private rented sector has virtually collapsed, and to see any significant reduction in those entering and exiting temporary accommodation highlights that investment in housing must be ramped up at a more rapid pace. The number of homes available to rent across the country remains low, with 21 properties available to rent in the whole of County Louth on daft.ie as of Tuesday of this week. This is a county with a population of 139,703 people.

The lack of new rental homes means that the imbalance between supply and demand is significantly evident. Not only that, many tenants face issues such as inadequate maintenance, substandard living conditions, and excessive rent increases.

Many people pay more in rent than they would if they had a mortgage. They are being crucified. No wonder families are presenting as homeless as a result of arrears. The average rent in Louth has risen by 12.1% to €1,624 in the past year according to the daft.ieIrish rental quarter 2 2023 report. This compares to €1,387 in quarter 1 of 2020 and a low of just €765 per month seen in late 2011. When faced with an acute shortage of rental homes, which shows little signs of abating, this must serve as a wake-up call to Government to work together to come up with innovative ideas for the provision of more homes.

Louth is not alone in experiencing these issues. It is coming up to the time of year when students moving away from home to go to college begin hunting for somewhere to live. The current housing crisis makes that more difficult than ever, whereby the sharp increase in rents around the country reflects a worsening of the unprecedented scarcity of rental homes. The rent-a-room scheme could prove successful but this incentive should be extended to people receiving social welfare payments, with a provision that they do not lose supplementary benefits, such as medical cards, if they rent out a room. It is also clear that, going into the winter period, pressure will remain on temporary accommodation services. Budget 2024 is an opportunity to raise housing supply targets and implement solutions in the interim to get people out of temporary accommodation and into homes as soon as possible.

Approved housing bodies will continue to play a key role in the delivery of affordable housing and must be resourced and financed adequately to reflect their potential and the role they play in providing housing solutions. Any capital budget underspend must be carried forward in addition to new budget allocations and made available for these much-needed housing projects. In fairness, Tuath Housing, in partnership with Louth County Council, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Agency and the Housing Finance Agency, has announced the launch of the application process for Louth's first ever cost-rental homes. We need to see more funding allocated to these initiatives, which grant tenants long-term security of tenure, provide reassurance against rent fluctuations, and foster stability and a sense of community.

The scale of housing needs is such that we have to make progress on planning permissions and on housing projects that are well-designed. Data from the Construction Information Services identified that over 60,000 new residential units are tied up within planning appeals. Delays in planning permission, slow construction rates, and a lack of available land for development have contributed to the shortage. This has further driven up prices and rents. Daily, I meet constituents who have had planning requests rejected left, right and centre. There have been too many objections over recent years and those objections do not match the crisis.

From 2021, Louth’s planning permission requirements in rural areas, in comparison to the rest of the country, are very restrictive, especially in relation to local needs requirements. The fact is that while the population and housing in County Louth will continue to grow by about 20%, the statistics in the Louth county development plan state that housing in rural areas will only be permitted to grow by around 9.4% from 2021 to 2027.

All in government can agree that the current planning system should be changed. In January of this year, I welcomed the publication of the draft planning and development Bill 2022. The Bill, if enacted, will bring greater clarity, consistency and certainty to how planning decisions are made, making the planning system more coherent and user-friendly for the public and planning practitioners. In order to alleviate the housing crisis, we need to ensure that this legislation is enacted as quickly as possible to facilitate planning approvals and developments.

Earlier this year, Irish architects claimed that a new model of housing density could more than double the number of own-door dwellings on a site. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage needs to consult on new guidelines for housing design to meet the needs of more diverse and smaller households. I have previously proposed the use of modular homes in this House in response to the housing crises. I have encouraged the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to consider alternative, innovative housing designs to support greater flexibility, to allow for more compact and sustainable forms of development and to provide greater housing choice. A clear planning policy on building the likes of modular homes and log cabins, for use as permanent homes, could go a long way to addressing the housing crisis.

I have a major issue with vacant houses in Louth and east Meath. I acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, published a vacant homes action plan and launched a new €150 million fund for local authorities to tackle vacancy and dereliction to support the plan. However, this is merely smoke and mirrors. Where is the action and resultant houses as a direct result of this plan's implementation? In this time of crisis, we must ensure that all houses are fully utilised. We need to remarket the advantages of this in order to increase the supply of homes for rent or purchase. I have previously highlighted the work of Louth County Council in bringing derelict vacant properties back into the housing stock. I know from my dealings with the council that the only thing holding it back is the lack of funding from the Government. In the aftermath of the lifting of the eviction ban, it was thrown about that resources and funding are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required to combat housing supply. Yet, on the ground, we all hear differently. Why are there any vacant homes at all? We need to do more within the measure to ensure that all vacant houses are utilised.

The Department's role regarding homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the statutory role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. The targeting of vacant and derelict buildings would increase the supply of social and affordable homes. The expansion of the tenantin situscheme and other initiatives for both social and affordable cost-rental housing would increase the supply of social and affordable homes. The housing crisis requires a multifaceted, solutions-driven policy approach that recognises the needs of renters, first-time buyers, the homeless, and landlords. Despite some progress being made on housing supply, we should be open to new thinking and new initiatives that will help address the current chronic housing shortage.

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