Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being here for the debate. We have already spoken at length since the formation of this Dáil about the housing crisis. We all accept that the one thing we can all agree on is that it is a very acute crisis. Certainly, it is a crisis that has deepened in recent years and we must find solutions to it. We will agree that whatever about individual measures, housing supply is ultimately the only solution to resolve this issue. We saw the report from the Central Bank today where the increase in property prices in the past 12 months was 8.1%. It is very significant. Obviously, it is damning news for people trying to get on the property ladder because it feels as if it is being put further and further out of their reach. That is very concerning for those people. However, it is a simple fact of economic supply and demand that if your demand is up at a high level and your supply is at a low level, prices are going to increase. There will be price inflation, whether this is in terms of house purchase prices or house rental costs.

That is what we are seeing. The Government needs to be radical in its approach to resolving this issue. The Housing Commission argued that there has to be a radical step change in approach. I commend the Government on the programme for Government which sets out ambitious measures and targets for housing. Every single one needs to be implemented as quickly as possible.

Touching on the issue of supply in more detail, brownfield sites and apartments are a key reason housing delivery last year was not what we expected it to be. Unfortunately, the delivery of apartments fell off a cliff edge. That resulted in the overall number being significantly down on what we expected. We have to delve into that issue in further detail and ask how is it that apartment blocks can be built across Europe but for some reason in Ireland it is proving very difficult. We have to ask those hard questions and get the answers. They have to be part of the solution. Of course, they will not be suitable for everyone looking to buy or rent a home but they are part of the solution to providing accommodation in city centres. Often, people live in traditional starter homes, such as a three-bed semi or three-bed townhouse, who would be quite content in an apartment in a city but those options are not there for them. It is part of the solution and we have to look at it.

On unlocking some of the key blockages in supply, I listened to some of this debate already, and Uisce Éireann was mentioned quite a lot. We all are aware of examples of Uisce Éireann and the difficulties it causes. I heard examples where preconnection queries have taken several months, leading to huge frustration among those trying to deliver housing. That has to be sped up. It has to happen faster. We saw the recent storm that will undoubtedly result in ESB Networks, for example, falling behind on its scheduled tasks and it will now have a backlog. We have to watch that as well. Our utility companies and service providers are key issues. If we are genuinely trying to increase housing supply, they have to work hand in hand with developers, local authorities and others trying to deliver on housing supply and, of course, other forms of infrastructure such as transportation networks and so on. We have to take a targeted approach to funding utilisation to deliver on housing. It has to be so targeted that the end result is all about delivery of housing. The planning process is another issue. I commend the previous Government on the planning Act which sets forward significant reform of planning. We need to see those changes implemented as soon as possible. The reality is a lot of potential residential permissions are locked in An Bord Pleanála because those decisions are waiting for action. Those changes must be made. While the planning Act needs to be progressed and its measures implemented, we must do whatever we can do in the short term to bring about quicker decisions in residential cases. It is about prioritising residential developments at the end of the day because we face the most severe housing crisis in a generation. We need to deliver on housing and getting those decisions out is part of the solution.

I already spoke to the Minister about development levies, which need to be looked at. Nobody wants to give a blank pass to developers but that you would charge a levy on development when you are in the middle of a housing crisis does not add up. It has to be designed in such a way that it is about early delivery and housing stock being delivered at the earliest possible opportunity. It is not necessarily a case of giving a pass on development levies and letting completions come at any point in the future. It needs to be targeted and designed such that it results in early delivery of units because that it what we need to achieve.

Vacancy is also part of this debate. The first thing I want to mention is local authority stock. We all know there is a swathe of properties across the country lying vacant for significant periods of time, owned by us as a State and the local authorities. That is simply unacceptable when we face such an acute housing crisis. I know of many cases in my constituency where properties have been sitting idle for the best part of 12 months. That is ludicrous and illogical. It is impossible to defend. I ask the Minister to take a hands-on approach in dealing with the chief executives of local authorities to address that issue once and for all. Having come from being a councillor for many years, councillors continuously raise this issue but for some reason we do not get the traction or progress we would like. That time has to come to an end and we have to see delivery. To move away from local authority stock to private properties lying vacant and derelict, we have to look at the measures in place to try to activate them. The derelict sites levy is not working to the extent it needs to. It needs to be reviewed. Local authorities need to be more aggressive in compulsory purchase orders to send a clear signal to people holding on to properties and doing nothing with them in town and village centres that it will not be acceptable any longer. Many of them are owned by financial institutions, receivers and so on. We need to send a direct message that they have to act on those properties, either sell them, bring them back into use or do something. That they be left sitting there as a blight in our communities is not good enough. I ask the Minister to look at that.

The vacant homes tax also needs to be reviewed. I am aware of a case in my constituency where there is a row of properties lying vacant. To the best of my knowledge, those properties are not being taxed or levied in any way simply because they are not deemed habitable. If it is not deemed habitable, it does not fall under the tax. They are not deemed derelict because the owners cleverly presented them in a such a way that they no longer meet the description of dereliction. Those properties have been sitting there for many years with no action in respect of them and there is no penalty from the local authority or the State. That must be looked at.

The over-the-shop proposal in the programme for Government is welcome. I echo other Deputies that it needs to be progressed as quickly as possible. We must seriously look at downsizing options. There is significant underutilisation of residential property in this country. If there are genuine options for older people, they will vacate larger properties and free them up for younger families, possibly their own. The proposed garden development is part of the solution in that it can create a downsizing option and meet the social needs of families, where one family can live close to the other. It is part of the solution but a clear policy needs to be put in place. I do not think going down the road of the exemptions is necessarily the right way. We need to put a planning policy in place to create sustainable development into the future, which we have to do as well. While we are in a crisis, we have to develop in such a way to meet our sustainability goals.

The rezoning of land is important. I do not think any of us want to see wholesale rezoning but we need to take a very targeted approach to try to deliver increased land supply for developers to get on with developing where there is serviced land and land that is suitable for development. Tomorrow, I will speak to the Minister about what I consider the trapped cohort of people above the social housing limits and below the ability to acquire a property either to rent or for affordable purchase in their own right. I will not go into that in great detail this evening but I want to set it as a goal of mine in politics to address that cohort of people. It is a growing cohort which has no support from the State at present. We are all regularly contacted by them and unfortunately we cannot give them the answers they want because they simply fall between the stools at the moment. I will speak more on that tomorrow.

The continuation of the help to buy and first home schemes is welcome but unfortunately now many developments fall outside of the first home scheme because house prices have increased. It is a balancing act; we do not want to chase house prices necessarily but at the same time it is a scheme for first-time buyers. In many cases, it is no longer available to them because house prices have increased so much. Cost rental is another area. I said to the Minister in the past that many local authorities are turning away from cost rental because of how the system is designed, which we must also address because we have to address both the purchase and rental sectors and make them more affordable. My time is up. I will address the other issue further in the morning in questions to the Minister.

See this speech in context