Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. There is no doubt of his commitment to this area. He has secured the largest ever annual housing budget. This proves his commitment and that of the Government to tackling housing. As he said, we have the highest number of local authority houses built since 1975 and the highest number of completions in almost two decades. We have introduced schemes to help people secure their homes, such as the extension of the help to buy scheme, the first home scheme, the affordable housing scheme and the derelict and vacant grant schemes, to name a few.

I want to use my time to speak about the rigidity of certain schemes. I am told by council officials who want to do more to help the people they are in a position to help that they are curtailed by the schemes. I know the Minister does not want this to be the case. We need senior officials in the Department to meet senior officials at local authority level to reassure them on what exactly can be done. If greater flexibility is needed, it must be introduced. People who are appointed to make decisions must be given the lead, authority and backing to make those decisions.

It is well known that I am in receipt of HAP. I will not speak about myself, and I never did in any contribution I have made in the Dáil. The rates are not reflective of the market rates today. I have the case of a woman who has been living in emergency accommodation in Athlone for 18 months following the need to leave her family home as a result of domestic abuse. She was told by Westmeath County Council to find her own rental property, which she did at a cost of €1,000 per month. The council refused to sanction HAP for this lady because it was €50 over the limit. This was last April 2023, and 14 months later she is still living in emergency accommodation because the local authority would not sanction €50 over the HAP limit. Coincidentally, she texted me today to ask what on earth is going on. She stated that she honestly does not think she can take this any more. This is a lady being told she is a top priority by the officials in Westmeath County Council who refused her HAP for the sake of €50.

The Minister needs to confirm to the local authorities they have to pay market value for the tenant in situ scheme or landlords will not sell. This will result in people returning to the housing list looking for rentals which are not there, having to avail of HAP limits which are not reflective of market rates at present, or waiting for new builds which will be more expensive than buying the house they are in at present.

The decision not to purchase is a poor one from a social perspective, taking people out of their own communities, and it is a poor economic decision also. Westmeath local authority is also refusing to purchase homes if there is any relationship between the tenant and the landlord, despite the fact the State has been paying rent assistance for these properties, in some cases for years. I do not understand the rationale.

I welcome turnkey developments. They are a fast, efficient way to provide social homes. When developers are given a contract, given certainty to provide a number of houses, a guaranteed price and staged payments, why are we facilitating a delay in those developments being handed over? I can identify four turnkey developments in Mullingar where the developers have not fulfilled their obligation. Developers should be penalised if they are not meeting their contractual obligations and delivering houses in a timely way. They are getting certainty in price and staged payments, so that is the least they should be able to do.

On mortgage to rent, property values have increased and therefore the criteria by which mortgage to rent applications are assessed are outdated. I am aware of a case in Mullingar involving marital breakdown. Because of a court order, the house must be sold. The mother, whose only income is invalidity pension, has three children. Two of those children have autism. The council has said it has no mechanism by which it can purchase the house. The Minister's office, which is always extremely helpful, has said the council can purchase the house. The Minister's senior officials need to meet with the senior officials in the council. They want that lady to go onto the housing list, which she is on, wait until the house is sold, then look for HAP and they might put her in a house at some stage in the future. A woman whose marriage has broken down and who is dealing with two autistic children is being put to that challenge. It does not make social sense and it certainly does not make economic sense.

The help to buy scheme is a great scheme. I can understand why the loan-to-value was introduced at 70%. However, I am aware of a case in Westmeath where a mortgage was approved but subsequently reduced because the family had an additional child. Because of the additional child, the financial institution reduced their mortgage so the loan-to-value went out of sync with the requirements of the scheme. The family has been approved for a lesser mortgage by the financial institution and cannot now avail of the help to buy scheme so they are down €30,000. Flexibility in our schemes is needed. If the Minister takes anything from my contribution today, I hope he takes that. I hope he will arrange a meeting between senior officials in his Department and the local authorities to ensure flexibility can be introduced.

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