Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)

I wish the Minister of State a good afternoon. This debate offers us a really good opportunity to recognise the really vital role the AHBs play in housing provision and in making housing a reality for so many people who otherwise simply would not have access to housing at all. In particular, we have to recognise that they consistently support marginalised communities, vulnerable people and people with additional needs and they prevent many people from simply being left behind. In a housing crisis where supply is always limited and market forces often move what supply there is towards profitable areas and thereby cater to the better-off, it is these vulnerable communities who are often left feeling the brunt. It falls to the Government to ensure market failures are responded to and not allowed to exacerbate an already difficult situation. That is done through State interventions such as the work of AHBs, as provided for in this Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Bill. The Green Party supports the broad aim of the Bill, which is to raise the lending power the HFA has.

The role the State plays in the provision of housing is a key splitting point in Ireland’s politics right now. Many of us have long argued that the State must scale up its involvement in ensuring that housing inequalities are addressed and that everybody has a right to a roof over their head. It was that approach and that strong belief in the State’s ability to do more that guided the Green Party when we were in government. We took the policy levers we were able to leverage in terms of bringing new approaches in that would broaden access to housing, especially for those on lower incomes. This was done primarily through the introduction of the cost-rental model – the Vienna model – to Ireland, which was a key priority of the Green Party in the previous Government. Cost rental is now embedded as part of the State’s housing policy and it is providing long-term secure tenancies to renters at rates that are significantly below market ones. Over 4,000 homes were delivered by AHBs for cost rental according to the quarter 2 statistics for this year.

One critical aspect that really underlines the success of the cost-rental model has been the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme. As we know, there are two strands to the tenant in situ scheme and they have been a vital lifeline for people at risk of homelessness. Through them over 3,000 homes have been purchased by the State and moved from the private into the public sector between 2023 and 2024. That represents over 3,000 families who, but for the tenant in situ scheme, would have fallen into homelessness and would have been added to those dreadful monthly lists we see issued from the Department of Housing. Over the course of this year my Green Party colleagues on local authorities around the country have been flagging their concern about the lack of funding for the tenant in situ scheme and how that is slowing the ability of local authorities to make these purchases and interventions and, crucially, prevent people from falling into homelessness. I recognise that in August an extra €50 million was announced by the Department for the scheme. That is good but my understanding is it is once-off and will not be added to the overall base. It will allow catch-up for some of the 2024 waiting list for tenant in situ purchases and make a bigger dent in the 2025 one, but it does not deal with the challenges we will see in 2026 and 2027.

When speaking about State interventions where the market has actually failed, there is no more glaring example than the proliferation of vacancy and dereliction we see around the country. Much of that is fuelled by land hoarding and wider disincentives to develop existing land or abandoned buildings. It has been difficult to resolve. It was something the Greens put significant focus on in the context of the previous Government. One measure I was particularly pleased we were able to get over the line was the land hoarding tax, the RZLT. This has been successful. In the context of a housing crisis, it is not acceptable for people to be hanging on to large amounts of land that is zoned for housing. In its first year it has raised over €40 million for the Exchequer. I was disappointed that in last week's budget, loopholes that allow it to be avoided have been maintained for 2026. That does not allow the land hoarding tax to act to its full potential effect.

Regularly the Taoiseach tells us that when it comes to housing he has an open mind and is happy to listen to ideas the Opposition brings forward. My colleague, Senator Noonan, has brought an idea forward in the Seanad. He came up with legislation that would apply really beneficial new ideas for tackling the issue of vacancy and dereliction and could realise up to 11,000 new homes. Many of them would be for the same cohort that the Housing Finance Agency, which we are discussing, seeks to assist. There are some easy wins in Senator Noonan's Bill for a government that is willing to act. It would broaden the definition of a derelict property, require local authorities to publish their derelict sites register online and compel local authorities to start acquiring sites once they are on the register for more than two years. Unfortunately the Minister of State’s Government has not run with this Bill. It has delayed it for a further two years. Regularly I hear the Taoiseach say he will take on new ideas but the practice when a good idea is brought forward in a constructive way is that it is just delayed in this manner. That is really disappointing. This was, as I said, an easy win for the Government. The budget announced a derelict property tax, which is a positive step. That it is to be based within the Revenue Commissioners is important for its enforcement and its ability to deliver. While local authorities have some arms or levers to deliver on new taxes, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners is the best place to locate this. We will be looking closely at the provisions around this tax when it is introduced through the finance Bill.

I again recognise the work the approved housing bodies are doing to deliver housing to those who really need it - those who have been failed by the market. They are a strong manifestation of the belief I have and the Green Party has of a really strong State role in the delivery of houses. That is not an exclusive role but a strong role in the delivery of houses to those who most need them and the delivery of different houses through long-term tenure in the context of social housing or a new form of rental tenure in the cost-rental model. We will continue to scrutinise this Bill as it goes through these Houses, but we are supportive of the ambition to give our AHBs a greater capacity to expand their work and help more people.

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