Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. We will be supporting it and opposing the Government's amendment. This is a vital discussion. Unfortunately, it feels as if every week, we are discussing a new blockage to providing housing. The incredible thing is that each week, this new barrier is responded to by the Government and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as if it was a complete surprise and as if they were not aware of these issues - the infrastructure blockages and the lack of investment in infrastructure.

I will bring the Minister of State back to 2017. Fine Gael launched a local infrastructure housing activation fund. What was this for? It was for dealing with critical infrastructural blockages such as roads, bridges and amenity spaces. The Government was offering local authorities funding to address the significant public infrastructure deficits where the lack of enabling and accessing infrastructure has been hindering the early development of housing. This was 2017. Eight years ago, the Government was aware that critical infrastructure blockages existed and provided some funding but this funding was clearly inadequate. This is what is extremely frustrating. We come in here week after week and on the media, it is the same thing - this surprise at these barriers. The Government was going to bring in a housing tsar to break down the doors and tackle these blockages and barriers. It is baffling that the previous Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage was not breaking down doors to deal with the issues he knew about. He was too busy spinning the fibs of 40,000 homes being delivered. I ask for accountability in this House. The former Minister should come back in and explain where the figure of 40,000 homes came from and why he did not address these critical infrastructure blockages of which he was well aware.

It is unfortunate that the current Minister is continuing where the former Minister left off and is not taking an emergency response to the lack of infrastructure. The Minister has been in office for five months but has not yet pulled together an emergency meeting of the utilities to see where the blockages are and what needs to done. Unfortunately, all we have heard is disagreements about whether or not Uisce Éireann got the €1 billion and whether or not it is the additional funding it requires. It is very clear from Uisce Éireann that it does not have the funding currently allocated to build 50,000 homes every year so if the Minister wants to immediately address one of the key barriers, he should allocate the funding. It was disappointing to hear the Tánaiste talk about the requirement for Uisce Éireann to present its guarantee that it will deliver on this funding. Uisce Éireann cannot plan to deliver if it does not have the funding allocated to it so it is a chicken-and-egg situation. It needs the guarantee from the Minister of State, who is shaking his head, that it will have the funding to deliver the infrastructure. I do not know why the Government is dithering on allocating the funding to Uisce Éireann. It needs to be upfront and announce that whatever funding Uisce Éireann needs will be provided. Of course, there must be accountability and value for money but Uisce Éireann needs that funding.

There is significant land in Ballymun and Finglas in my constituency that could be used for affordable and social housing but we hear from Uisce Éireann that it will not have the infrastructure in place in the new town planned in Ballyboggan in Dublin 7 to enable the development of that new town. Dublin City Council is developing a master plan when we know the infrastructure will not be in place. We are in an emergency. Uisce Éireann has said that there is a need for two new large wastewater treatment plants in order for that development to go ahead. If we add on thousands more potential homes in north Dublin, we will come to a standstill in terms of delivery of new homes in Dublin city so we need an emergency response in terms of investment in infrastructure.

There was a very good and solid recommendation from the Housing Commission, which we supported, regarding the setting up of a housing oversight executive, not a housing activation office where deck chairs from the Department are moved around on an apparently sinking ship. The housing oversight executive was supposed to be underpinned by legislation. There was no mention of a CEO or tsar. It talked about a board and having resources. The Minister mentioned legislation coming later. Surely the starting point was to have the legislation ready so it had the powers to deliver - to be able to bring in the utilities and service providers and unblock the blockages. The Government is setting up an office that will have no additional power. How will it have any ability to compel State agencies? This question has yet to be answered.

It is important that there be accountability within Government around the barriers both it and the Department have put up. The Minister of State is probably familiar with Ó Cualann, which is an affordable housing delivery body. For a number of years, it has developed affordable housing. It built it in Ballymun in my constituency. It requested seed funding, which is upfront funding to enable it to start the development process, yet it has not been able to get it. It is as if the Department is actively blocking Ó Cualann. I ask the Minister of State to meet Ó Cualann and ask what blockages it is facing because it tells me that it faces blockages, one of which is the lack of seed funding.

This money - amount involved is not huge - could be used to provide affordable housing.

Another issue, as was mentioned earlier, is the tenant in situ scheme. It is shocking to hear that the Minister for housing is refusing to meet representatives of Dublin City Council to engage on the scheme, which is being gutted. It is another example of the Government being a barrier to delivering housing. We need an emergency response to this crisis and emergency investment in infrastructure.

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