Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion on housing. It is interesting to note that Sinn Féin is calling for "a radical reset of Government housing policy", which is the exact same call made by the Housing Commission in its report. This independent body, set up by Government to look at housing policy, also called for a "radical strategic reset of housing policy." Its report states that there is an underlying housing deficit in Ireland of 256,000 homes. That is a shocking figure. Blame must be laid at the door of those who have been in power for the last 20 years. There is no getting away from that and no sugarcoating it.

While there are new pressures on the housing market, the deficit in homes for families and individuals is a national disgrace. I understand that some progress is being made. The report, which is not available to read in its entirety - all we have is a report from RTÉ today - states that emergency delivery is needed to meet the deficit. I do not see that being done. There is progress but we will be forever playing catch-up. In fact, we will never catch up. We will just continue to fall further behind.

One of the recommendations in the report is to establish a housing delivery oversight executive to drive co-ordination across legislation, registration and administrative practices. This makes real sense because of the urgency of the situation and the need for all the different systems to work together so that the system delivers the maximum possible number of homes in the shortest possible timeframe. It is like a complicated set of levers. In order to work at maximum efficiency, precision timing and co-ordination, above all else, are vital to deliver the best outcomes.

We also hear, according to this report, that in comparison with our European partners, we have one of the highest levels of public expenditure on housing yet one of the poorest outcomes. That in itself is proof positive that we need such a level of co-ordination. Along with healthcare, housing has to be the highest priority. Emergency action needs to be taken by the Government and it needs to be led by the Taoiseach because nothing else will do at this stage. Even at this late stage, I ask that the Government move swiftly to make the necessary changes and implement the most important recommendations in the Housing Commission's report.

In the few short minutes remaining to me, I will highlight a very important issue with regard to the construction of homes. It relates to where homes are built as well as the fact that not enough are being built. I raised this issue in the Dáil a few weeks ago when I highlighted the regional imbalance in housing completions. According to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, report on new housing completions for 2023, the northern and western region, with 17% of the population, accounted for only 11% of the housing completions. Not only is this Government failing to deliver new homes, but the situation is even worse in the regions. It is no wonder the most recent Residential Tenancies Board report showed skyrocketing increases in rents for counties Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal when we do not have supply.

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