Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The proposed changes to this scheme are greatly concerning. I believe they will cause havoc. This is a scheme broadly welcomed across the House. It is one that has seemed to be working. Does it need to be improved? Everything, of course, can be improved and I would have no objections to that. However, the proposed restrictions the Government is going to put on this scheme could render it redundant. It is going to increase the risk of homelessness. There are no vacant spaces in homeless services in most counties, including the one I live in. The simple reason is the number of people losing their tenancies and finishing up in homeless accommodation. I refer to putting in place restrictions on this scheme such as a requirement for the property to be registered with the RTB. As a constituency TD, the Minister knows the reality is many rental properties are not registered and the tenant has no power to change this fact.

Another restriction is the exclusion of reasonable refurbishment costs.

This does not bear any resemblance to reality. The facts are that any local authority official will tell you - the Minister knows this as well - that homes in the private rental sector do not receive regular maintenance. There will be shortcomings in that regard. Few homes will come in without needing €10,000, €20,000 or €30,000 to be spent on them. People with a disability are supposed to be okay but they will not be because doors will have to be widened and baths will have to be taken out and a shower put in. If there is no flexibility for the local authority to do that, it will not help their case. The two-year rule - in other words, that the house needs to be within the social housing net for two years with the tenant getting a rent subsidy, housing assistance payment or rental assistance payment - will cause problems because a lot of them will not be in it for two years. The Government is making it very restrictive. It will causes problems and limit the number. In County Laois, it was used in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, a number of homes are in the process of being bought but it is all on hold because there is uncertainty about what will happen. The owners of the properties will not wait indefinitely. That is just a fact of life. I am not exaggerating anything. There are practicalities. I am not too sure who drew this up. I would like to know. They have no idea what is going on out there in the real world. I do not mean that in a condescending way; I am just saying it does not bear any resemblance to reality. We want to keep this scheme working. By all means come forward with improvements regarding value for money or whatever else. Reasonable people will support reasonable measures. It shows the shortage of supply of social and affordable housing to buy.

The mass production of homes is never talked about in this House. I took this up with four of the Minister's predecessors and the Secretary General of the Department a number of times. The main parties in this House do not seem to focus on it. We need somewhere between six and ten house types to meet the needs of different family sizes, disabled people, elderly people and single people, etc. We need to use the same plans across the State. Having to bring in an architect and start with a blank canvas in every housing scheme costs a fortune. It costs 10% to 15% extra. It also delays and slows things down. The designs are sent back and forward between the Custom House and local authority technical staff. This can go on for a period. All of that would be cut out. I am not arguing for 1930s- or 1970s-type houses but we increased housing then and in other years when the State was a lot poorer by mass producing. Does the Minister really think people in Laois care if they live in a house that looks like an affordable or social house in Limerick? I certainly would not. That is how it was done. Anybody who ever produced anything at scale did so with mass production. I ask the Minister to talk to senior officials about this and change it. We need to be able to copy and paste plans, use the same plans and reduce costs. This is an unnecessary cost in the bill for houses. It will speed up delivery. Let us use the same plans across the State to fit different house types. It is an important issue which I ask the Minister to take on board.

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