Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Ó Broin and Sinn Féin for bringing forward the Bill and giving us a chance to talk about renters and housing. Renters in many parts of Kerry are having severe difficulty finding a house to rent. The houses that are available may be too expensive. Landlords are sceptical of the HAP system and unwilling to accept the payment. There are houses to be found but many landlords have left the market because they can only get €700 or €800 a month in rent for the property and they would pay half of that in tax. Another problem is that the RTB will ensure landlords who need the house back will not be able to get it back.

The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, who is present, is aware that landlords or house owners who rent a house to a Ukrainian family get €800 tax free from the Government. We are now aware these people are not going to be kept in hotels endlessly, so where are they going to finish up? Invariably, they will be looking for landlords to rent houses to them and they will have an advantage. I am asking the Minister of State to ensure our people get that same tax relief. Landlords who rent a house to a local person should be able to get up to €800 tax free, just like those who rent to Ukrainians. I want the same deal for local people. I am making no bones about it. Our people are entitled to the same terms and conditions as other people, whatever part of the world they come from.

There is still very little progress on voids being brought back into existence in Kerry, as I told the Minister of State a few days ago. The tenant purchase scheme was a great scheme. Local authority houses built since 2015 cannot be purchased by the tenant. I am asking the Government to change that. It was a great scheme. People who were allocated a house by the local authority kept it well because it was in their mind to purchase the house when they got on their feet. That was a great scheme but it is being ended now. There are a lot of voluntary housing bodies building houses but the tenants will never be able to purchase those houses. Tenants do not have the same pride when they know they will never be able to purchase the house.

An important point is that we are housing people from all over the world in Killarney but there is no homeless centre in the town. If a person in Killarney becomes homeless, the nearest homeless centre for that person is in Tralee. That takes people away from local schools, family and everything else. It is too far away. I need the Government to address that important issue. We always used to have a facility in Killarney but have not had one for the past 12 months.

On planning, there is no possibility of getting planning in most of Kerry unless you are the son or daughter of a farmer. While I welcome that those people can get planning, there are other local people who should be getting planning as well. They should have the basic right to build a house and put a roof over their heads.

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