Eamon Scanlon (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this debate. I am happy to have an opportunity to speak on the subject of housing, in general but specifically in the local authority sector. The experience in different local authority areas can vary but I am proud of the record of my county and Sligo County Council for the progress being made in providing local authority housing. One need only drive anywhere in my native county of Sligo to see the level of work going on in the construction industry and all the housing being built, and I warmly welcome this. It is a great sign of progress. I remember when the building of a house in a parish or small town was spoken about for a month but I am glad that we have moved on from there. Big improvements have been made to villages, some of which have been transformed with new homes, shops and small businesses. In my area of south Sligo there has been significant expansion in the past number of years.

It is important that Senators get an opportunity to highlight problems and ask that action be taken but where there are good developments, we should not be afraid to compliment the progress. That is why I am not afraid to say that I am confident the Government is doing a good job in giving local authorities the necessary resources to provide housing. It is not perfect at present but we should not lose the run of ourselves on where we are. Having been a member of Sligo County Council, I remember over the years we were starved of funding. The simple fact is there was no money available to build anything, particularly housing. That is why I have no difficulty in complimenting the former Ministers, Deputies Noel Dempsey and Cullen, and the Minister, Deputy Roche, and the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, for the funding provided which, in the case of County Sligo, amounts to €9.6 million this year. I warmly welcome the fact that this figure has increased by 100% over the past years.

Senator Ulick Burke mentioned that there are 50,000 on the housing wait lists. I dispute those figures. In Sligo a review was done two years ago to update the list of people genuinely waiting on the housing list and everybody concerned was contacted. At that time there were approximately 850 on the list and when the forms were returned the number had fallen to 500. I do not know whether the case is similar in the rest of the country. I thought for once we might get a handle on this and see exactly how many people are genuinely on the list. As every politician here will know, we fill out application forms for constituents. Anybody looking for a rent allowance must fill out a housing application form. Similarly, anybody looking for a grant under the improvement in lieu scheme to improve his or her home must fill out a housing application form. I honestly believe that the present figures are cuckoo. I thought we had sorted it out but now I do not. I recently discovered that a student who was applying for some scheme had to get his name on the housing list. This must addressed. The figures should be properly monitored or something should be done to ascertain, for once and for all, how many people are genuinely on the housing list.

The improvement in lieu scheme, to which I referred, is one of the schemes I want to raise with the Minister of State. It is an excellent scheme which is doing much good work. It is improving the homes of people, keeping them where they are used to living. The Minister of State might look at the income limits for the scheme. I would be involved in quite a number of cases under the scheme as I come from a rural part of County Sligo. There are difficulties with the income limit aspect of it but it is a great scheme. The people can get their work done. I recognise they do not pay back the full amount but if their house is sold within 15 years, the full amount can be recouped by the county council.

In my area the shared ownership scheme has helped quite a number of people, who were genuinely on the housing list, to get a home of their own. It provided a start, getting them on the ladder. One can see from the lists, where the county councils must notify the county council members of the sale of these properties, that these people are buying their homes after two or three years. Perhaps the Minister of State should look at the income limits because it is a good scheme. It is not costing the State one cent because the price of the house is recouped by the local authority.

I note that, increasingly, residents are buying these houses after two or three years. I could name ten people who got on the ladder at €140,000 or €150,000 for a three bedroom semi-detached house but who would not have done so but for the shared ownership scheme. After three years, their houses are worth €170,000 or €180,000. The scheme got them on the ladder and, thankfully, they are living in the houses and are moving on. Moreover, it is not costing the Government or the Exchequer one cent.

There are positives and negatives to affordable housing schemes, which depend particularly on their location. In my home town the county council built 12 affordable houses but failed to sell them and had to take them back into its own housing stock and allocate them to people on the housing list. While it was welcome that 12 more applicants were taken off the housing list in that case, it is disappointing that the schemes work in some areas but not in every area.

Essential repairs and disabled persons grants are beneficial, particularly for the elderly, but they are very restricted at present. While I am not sure the position is the same in every local authority area, to get an essential repairs grant in the Sligo County Council area one must be over 65 years of age and one will only get the grant for repairs to a roof and not for windows or doors unless these are part of an overall job. I understand the grant in Sligo is for 50% of the cost. The rules governing the disabled person's grant are similar to those for the essential repairs' grant in that applicants must be elderly and receive 50% of the cost. The grant schemes are not working as they should be.

I know of the case of a 53 year old mentally disabled and mildly physically disabled person who lives in her own home. She needs new windows and doors to improve her house so that she can live comfortably. However, she does not qualify for a disabled person's grant because it does not cover windows and doors and she cannot qualify for an essential repairs' grant because she must be over 65 years of age to do so. This person is caught in a trap, which should not happen to a genuinely disabled person who needs improvements to her house to ensure that she is able to stay there. These schemes are not working as well as they could.

I have experience of the excellent work done, mostly by FÁS workers, on local authority estates, which should be encouraged because it makes a difference. The more improvements are made in such estates, the happier the residents are and the better their quality of life, which can be proven.

I wish to refer to the new phenomenon of housing agencies, such as Cluaid, Respond and Focus Ireland, which seem to be springing up throughout the country. I was personally involved in the development of a scheme of houses in Ballymote, as a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference which received funding and grant-aid to build 28 houses for elderly people beside a nursing home. It is undoubted that the development has given a new lease of life to the elderly people housed there, located as it is beside the church, station and nursing home.

Young families are also grateful to get a house through a housing agency. When they move in, their circumstances might not be that good but when they get work, their lives improve and their incomes begin to rise. However, rents also rise and such families find they can never buy their houses whereas families moving into local authority houses can buy their houses. This might not be an issue for discussion in this debate but it is coming down the track. Somebody will make a challenge on the issue in the future. It is not fair that such people are not allowed to buy their houses.

Senator Brady referred to the benefits of tax incentives for the inner cities. While I realise the issue does not involve the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, I emphasise the effect of the rural social tax incentive scheme in my own area, where one can buy a fully finished three bedroom semi-detached house for €165,000 as a result of the scheme.

The income limit for first-time buyers should be increased because house prices have increased considerably in recent years. An issue raised with me concerned first-time buyers purchasing a site to provide their own house. Some first-time buyers on marginal incomes find they must pay stamp duty of €4,000 or €5,000 on a site. We should encourage and help such people, not penalise them with a tax they cannot afford at that time in their lives.

Reference was made to single fathers. I do not know what policies exist nationally but I know Sligo County Council has no policy in this regard. A father who visited my office last week had been abused by his wife. He had to leave his home with three of the children and is living with friends and neighbours, moving from house to house. While that may be hard to believe, it is the truth. A complaint was made to the Garda, which was aware of the abuse this man suffered. However, there is no policy in place to deal with such cases, a matter which we must consider.