Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is good to have the opportunity to speak on housing again so soon. I welcome the motion from my Social Democrats colleagues. Looking at the Government amendment, I would vote against it but I will put on the record that I am participating in a pairing arrangement today and so will not be voting. However, I will speak in support of the motion. It is very important to emphasise a couple of things. The Government statement says that some of the investment has to come from the private sector and that there is not an over-reliance on it.

It seems that going forward there will be an increasing reliance on the private sector. The so-called vulture funds and investment funds that are coming in are obviously there to make a profit. There is no way in the world the price of any housing for sale, if they sell it, will be cheaper. The rents will not be cheaper either.

I will give the local example of Lucan swimming pool. For some reason, South Dublin County Council decided to tender out the management of this pool, which was won by a private company. As a result, there are higher costs for using the Lucan pool. For example, it is €6 for a swim in the Clondalkin pool operated by the council but it is €10 for a swim at Lucan. I can only quantify that in housing terms by saying if people are in it to make their profit and margin, and to give their investors a return, it will always be more expensive. If we are talking about giving breaks, we should be giving breaks to small landlords, those who own one property and have been keeping people on reduced rents for years but are being squeezed out of the market, or the single property investor. I agree with rent pressure zones and keeping rents down, but if there are people operating in rent pressure zones whose tenant leaves of his or her own volition, they should be able to put it in for a market rent. Other than that, we need to keep prices down. We need to give tax incentives to assist the smaller landlords.

The State should be the biggest developer in the country. I do not mean the State should don all the shovels and do everything. It should work with the private sector but as the lead partner. There are ideas. In County Louth, for example, there is a housing development that will be produced in a new and innovative manner through 3-D printing. Although modular housing has been overblown in some areas, in other cases it is being delivered more cheaply than traditional bricks and mortar.

I would like more time to speak, but I welcome something I raised a while back at the council regarding people being able to build in back gardens. As long as it is not being rented out to the private sector and is for family use, it is a brilliant idea. Let us keep moving with it as quickly as possible.

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