Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

"To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

"acknowledges the achievements of the Government in

—increasing housing supply as the key response to the broad range of housing needs and demand;

—achieving the 9th successive year of record housing completions involving the addition of 68,819 new houses in Ireland in 2004;

—continuing to develop measures to address affordability;

—increasing the share of the housing market going to first-time purchasers and introducing a number of measures to support first-time buyers;

—bringing forward the Private Rented Tenancies Bill 2003;

—putting in place a strong social and affordable housing programme involving investment of some €1.8 billion in 2004;

—progressing the commitment in the Sustaining Progress partnership agreement to the delivery of an ambitious scale of affordable housing through the Affordable Housing Initiative and Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2002 and to reviewing the effectiveness of programmes designed to assist low income groups, including those with social and special housing needs;

—introducing and resourcing an Integrated Strategy on Homelessness; and supports the continued actions by the Government to increase housing supply, and focus public expenditure on responding to the needs of low income households and those with special needs through a broad range of targeted initiatives."

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate him on his work. He is Minister of State with special responsibility for housing, among other responsibilities. He has been doing a very good job in achieving a record level of housing output and it is very evident if one drives around rural Ireland, which is the area I know best. I hope the Government continues to build on that success. The Minister's draft guidelines on one-off housing have been very helpful and have helped local authorities to develop county development plans in the confidence there will be sound and more realistic policies for those who wish to build houses in rural Ireland.

The amendment to the motion states that 2003 was a very successful year for housing output with 68,819 housing completions, an increase of 19.3% on 2002. Housing output in Dublin has reached record levels with 14,394 built last year. In the greater Dublin area, the figure was 22,852 units. Since 1997, over 356,000 houses have been built nationally. I hope the focus of the Government will remain on continuing the highest possible level of housing supply because the demand is very strong. By doing so, the Government will bring moderation to the rate of increase in house prices.

I have a particular liking for the programme of serviced land initiative. This initiative and the more efficient use of housing land can help to achieve the desired result of more houses. Two villages in County Galway, Kilkerrin and Dunmore, which is a town rather than a village, have been included in the Minister's programme for serviced land initiative funding. The tenders are already with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I hope that under the new design-build-operate system, those schemes will be up and running before the end of 2004. This initiative, together with the rural towns initiative, will ensure the infrastructure is in place to create more housing.

One of the biggest problems in towns is the lack of sewerage facilities. If more sewerage schemes were built in small towns and villages at a cost of between €1 million and €1.5 million, a relatively small amount, we would have infrastructure for housing. Similarly, improvements are required in water schemes in some towns where water supply is not adequate.

The rate of house price increase referred to by previous speakers remains a problem although it has moderated since the late 1990s. Six years ago, in 1998, house price increases peaked at 40% per annum. The Government is seeking ways to improve the situation. I am encouraged by the various schemes introduced by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, including the social and affordable housing schemes, for which I hope funding will be maintained. I understand the needs of 13,000 households will be met under the schemes compared to 8,500 in 1998. We need strong social housing programmes to meet the needs of those unable to provide for their housing needs from their own resources. In 2003, local authorities completed or acquired almost 5,000 units.

We need to support the voluntary and co-operative housing sector which provided 1,360 units in 2002, a record output for the sector. In 2003, its output continued with more than 1,600 units provided, more than double the output of 1997. Just before Christmas 96 houses were completed in Tuam in the biggest ever scheme, consisting of a mix of a council social scheme and a voluntary scheme. While I was glad this very nice estate was completed in good time, I noted with interest that the 48 local authority houses were allocated before Christmas, whereas five or six houses on the voluntary side have not yet been allocated. It is difficult to understand the reason for this and I have tried my best to find out. While the postal strike in Tuam probably did not help, it is now late May and we must ensure the remaining houses are allocated.

I commend the Office of Public Works on the considerable work it has done with regard to land in the ownership of State bodies. It has identified many areas of land which could be used for housing, one of which is on the Finglas Road in Dublin. The health boards have land in areas outside Dublin and some Land Commission land is still available. The possibility of providing housing on State lands needs to be examined.

The Residential Tenancies Bill before the Dáil will result in a major improvement in the current position by placing the Private Residential Tenancies Board on a statutory footing. I hope the legislation will be enacted before the summer. I also welcome the Government's action on homelessness.

Traveller accommodation has given rise to considerable difficulties and I do not underestimate the challenges in this area. I ask the Minister to promote the Traveller accommodation programme more vigorously and ensure more units are built.

Sometimes repairing houses is as important as building them. It might not sound as good if the Department was to state it had repaired 68,000 houses — it would prefer to say it had built 68,000 homes — but let us not forget that we need to repair houses for the elderly and people with disabilities. I hope the Government will do so.