Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise the serious issue of the physical segregation of Part 5 council tenants in private developments. We have several examples of Part 5 council tenants all over Dublin being housed in one block or area of a development and physically separated from other private tenants or occupants. We have all heard the stories of the segregation of Part 5 tenants as regards the lack of access to amenities or where fees are required for amenities. They cannot even pay the fees and, therefore, there is no possibility of having access to amenities. This was the case in the Davitt apartment complex in Drimnagh, which is a build-to-rent scheme. Along with my Right to Change colleague, Councillor Sophie Nicollaud, I have worked with several tenants in that complex. Part 5 tenants were not given access to the playground for their children. They had no access to the bike sheds and were not allowed to pay car parking fees or fees for other amenities, which is still the case. What is far worse in terms of inclusion is that they were segregated into one block, which is what my question is about today.

We see far too many examples of this. I have seen Part 5 tenants in a complex segregated into one block or put in a corner of the complex where the bins are kept. I know of an LDA project in Cherry Orchard where Part 5 tenants are physically segregated. This segregation is built into planning applications, which raises the issue of the quality of these Part 5 properties from day one. A developer knows what block will be for council tenants and not for cost-rental or affordable housing.

This physical segregation of Part 5 council tenancies is standard practice for Dublin City Council. It is often written into the contracts between the council and owners. The council said it is too expensive not to physically segregate council tenants and pepperpot that into builds. When I raised this question before, I received the following reply from the Minister, Deputy McGrath, who is sitting beside the Tánaiste:

I want to be crystal clear as to what the Government position is. We support integration. We do not support segregation. Part V should be seamless in its application because it is a very positive thing to have social affordable purchase and private housing at all situated together.

That is all well and good, but if physical segregation of Part 5 tenants has become standard practice in councils because they say they cannot afford not to segregate their tenants, the Government is clearly not doing enough to implement the Housing for All policy. If it is the case that ending physical segregation is too costly for councils, as Dublin City Council stated at a recent housing committee meeting, it will be necessary for the Government to give the council the funding required to pepperpot Part 5 tenants into private developments. Is the Government prepared to revise this matter and to provide funding? Is it prepared to insist that LDAs implement pepperpotting as part of integration?

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