Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I welcome the thrust of the Bill. I support its attempts to facilitate access by private financial institutions to the affordable housing mortgage market. It will allow local authorities and housing authorities to place a charge on such properties, which is important. People renting local authority houses who were given tenancy in the 1980s have been able to purchase them, before selling them on at a huge profit, as a result of the various purchasing schemes which have been offered to them in recent years. There is nothing wrong with that — it is not illegal — but we need to consider the issues which arise. There is a need for caution in respect of the sale of assets which used to belong to local authorities. Not only should we be concerned about the exorbitant profits which have accrued in certain instances, but we should take some action.

The thrust of the legislation before the House is linked to a clear commitment contained in Sustaining Progress, which was agreed by the social partners almost two years ago. The Taoiseach said in the document that the Government's target of building 10,000 affordable houses would be met in the lifetime of the agreement. In March 2004, the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, admitted in response to the Labour Party's Dáil spokesman in this area, Deputy Gilmore, that none of the planned houses had been built or even started, planning applications had not been lodged and architects had not been appointed. One does not need to be a genius to work out that we have seen almost two years of inaction in respect of this commitment, which is central to the lives of ordinary working families. I refer to people on lower incomes who may have been unable to participate in the housing market for various reasons, not least of which is the rate of house price increase in recent years. I accept that nobody foresaw such an increase, but the Government has a responsibility to legislate for such people nevertheless. When the Government makes a commitment, it should stick to it.

I am reminded of a discussion on a prominent radio programme last week about the McCabe issue in Limerick, which needs to be treated with great sensitivity. As I was driving to the House last Wednesday, a person from the Dublin area said on the programme that he was curious about the use by Ministers, particularly the Taoiseach, of the phrase "a Government commitment". It appeared at that stage that there was a clear intent to change a commitment made in the McCabe case, for obvious reasons. When the person in question wrote to the Government publications office to ask for a definition of the phrase "a Government commitment", he received a prompt reply in which he was informed by an official that the term has no legal standing. I will be cautious about that phrase from now on because I know it does not have any legal standing. It is clear that it does not have any standing in terms of a commitment to the electorate because the results of last June's elections bear that out. We need to examine the Government's commitment to build 10,000 affordable houses under Sustaining Progress, given that no such applications had been made to local authorities by March 2004 and not much progress has been made since.

Senator Browne referred to the house price index, which was published earlier this year by Permanent TSB. The index clearly indicated that the average house price in Dublin is €320,000. Those of us who read the newspapers' property supplements, which inform us that substantial moneys are required to purchase flats, apartments and houses in Dublin, have no reason to believe otherwise. A young couple would need combined earnings of approximately €100,000 per annum if they were to qualify for a mortgage for an average priced house. That is a huge amount of money by any stretch of the imagination. Some startling issues arise when one considers that such money needs to be raised to build a house.

The escalation in the price of houses has paid a significant part in the development of the circumstances we face. It is clear that almost eight years of conservative right-wing rule have not benefited families on lower incomes who cannot afford their own houses. Local authorities have not been given the resources necessary for their house building programmes, which are aimed at reducing this country's increasing housing lists. If one examines the level of housing need in every town and village, one will see that the affordability gap is increasing at an alarming rate. There is great pressure on local authority housing lists as a result. The various commitments given do not have any legal standing. Those who make such promises do not have the moral fibre to fulfil them.

Approximately two years ago, the former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, removed the 20% clause to give builders more scope in securing planning permissions. Just 163 affordable houses were built under that clause before the permissions were gifted back to builders. The Government's sell-out to the building industry has disadvantaged many young people and resulted in a huge shortfall in affordable housing. The gift that was given by the Government two years ago, in the run-up to Christmas, was unthinkable because those who should have benefited from the 20% clause were kept out of the loop. Two years on, no applications have been made by local authorities, according to a parliamentary reply given earlier this year by the Minister, Deputy Cullen, which would make the hair stand on the back of one's head. There has not been any movement in that regard on the part of the Government, the former Minister or his successor, Deputy Roche.

The Minister of State referred earlier to two press releases issued yesterday, one in his name and the other in the name of the Taoiseach. At 5.30 p.m. yesterday, the Taoiseach announced that the Government had agreed to release additional State lands for the affordable housing initiative under Sustaining Progress. In the second paragraph of a statement issued at 6 p.m. yesterday by the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, he welcomed "the 10,000-unit target figure being reached". In the fourth paragraph of the statement, however, he welcomed "the 10,000-unit target figure being exceeded". If one can move from fulfilling a commitment to exceeding it in the time it takes to read from the second paragraph to the fourth paragraph of a statement, one can exceed the speed of light or the speed of sound. It is particularly unlikely when one considers that no architects have been appointed, no applications have been lodged and no real action has been taken in this area.

The Government has committed itself to making State lands available on four separate occasions in recent times. Given that it is problematic to make State lands available in several areas, not least in west Cork, the problem will not be entirely solved in that way. We need prompt action. It is clear that the Government's target will not be met until the houses have been built. As of this evening, the 10,000 units to which the Taoiseach committed himself two years ago have yet to be delivered. Who will build them? I know that we are in the Yuletide season, but I do not suspect that Santa Claus will deliver the 10,000 houses. When one considers the manner in which this issue has been handled, it is no wonder Government advisers are being paid €1,200 a day. One will need to pay one's communications advisers that much money if one expects them to put a spin, or a certain interpretation, on the grossly inadequate and unprofessional manner in which the affordable housing issue is being dealt with.