Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)

I welcome the Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Bill. The increases it will provide to local authorities and approved housing bodies is very welcome and we will support the Bill. While the HFA funding is a powerful tool in the housing crisis, I want to be clear that it is only as important as the hand which wields it.

Unfortunately, I think this Government is a continuation of the previous one when it comes to housing. The budget was an indication of that. It has really done nothing in housing. It had an opportunity to reduce the cost of construction to address the viability gap which it fully acknowledges when it comes to apartment complexes but not for ordinary families. When I was canvassing over the weekend in Mayo, the people of Mayo who are seeking to build or buy, who are homeless or in rental accommodation, are furious that the Government sought to recognise the viability gap for investment funds, for pension funds and for international investors but not for ordinary families. Every week constituents who are facing eviction, cannot find a home and are terrified of entering homelessness attend my clinic. These are families with children, elderly people and students. Meanwhile, there are almost 9,000 vacant homes in Mayo. It is an absolute disgrace that so little has been done to address this issue. If we analyse those vacant properties, over 4,000 of them have been on the vacant property register since 2016. This long-term vacancy rate is one of the highest in the country. There are hundreds of properties listed on the register. While I acknowledge the work Mayo County Council is doing on this, when I speak to the local authority it tells me it does not have the resources. It is time in this housing crisis that we address the issue of dereliction, beef up the resources in the local authority and seek to work with local property owners up to and including compulsory purchase orders to try to get those properties back into use.

Many months ago, this Government talked about the housing crisis and the emergency. In the Dáil and in the media, it said it would allow for units at the rear of properties. People all across Mayo rang my office. They said this was wonderful and asked if I would support it. I said absolutely; I would 100% support it. I met the Minister in the corridor and told him it was great and let us move on it. What has happened in those six, seven or eight months since then, which was soon after the election? Nothing.

It is time the Government recognised that it is an emergency situation. We saw how the Government could kick into action when we had the Covid-19 situation. There are people who are facing the same level of emergency in housing. They ask me on a weekly basis about what is happening about the legislation. The truth is that it seems to be put on the long finger. It should be swiftly passed through these Houses and enacted because people are waiting and it would be a tangible measure for many families. Instead it will sit in layers of bureaucracy from Department to Department. It is really important this happens and I urge the Minister of State to move on that legislation, prioritise it and start treating the housing situation in this country as the emergency that it is.

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