Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak in this debate. When we debate this important topic in this House we generally have a widespread and reflective discussion and this afternoon's debate has been no exception. I thank Deputies Noel Ahern, Batt O'Keeffe and Roche for their attendance. I read the Minister's speech with interest. While he presented convincing figures on the strength of the housing market, its impact on the economy and the state of housing health as far as the Government is concerned, housing statistics can be twisted and turned in many ways.

If we are to ensure that housing, which is a basic and absolute need for every citizen, becomes an entitlement, we must address certain issues. Some of my colleagues said despite the huge number of houses being built annually and over the past six or seven years, we still have an enormous waiting list for local authority housing. I appreciate that Deputy Noel Ahern has greater responsibility for local authority housing than the other Ministers and I am sure he is taking note. It is disappointing that with so many houses being built, the local authority lists at best remain static and in many areas have increased. We need a broad debate on that issue.

So many housing issues must be addressed, such as quality and energy efficiency raised by Senator O'Toole, Senator Quinn's design arguments and the issues of affordability, shared ownership loans and local authority housing. It is surprising that after 60 or 70 years of our State we have never had a Minister or Department dedicated to housing. Housing is a crucial issue that affects our economy and society on an ongoing basis and requires particular political attention. While the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has always had a junior Minister responsible for the housing budget, for at least one Government term there should be a Cabinet Minister to look at the broad range of issues from a housing perspective.

The many issues, for example, the issue of auctioneering which Senator Ross raises regularly, are dealt with in a piecemeal fashion but if we had the benefit of a dedicated Minister for housing for five or ten years he or she could begin to make a real impact. It is not just a question of building 70,000 or 80,000 houses per annum. For every house built we discover new problems because of issues that have not been addressed.

The Minister made a passing reference to the rental market and spoke on the need to modernise and develop the rental sector. I agree, but nothing has happened in that area. We have not been able to move people from the concept that rental accommodation is second rate. That is an Irish and British view but not a European view. We should make it attractive for people to invest in providing top quality, affordable rental accommodation. If a person is lucky enough to have sizeable financial reserves and invests them in a shop, pub or hotel, he or she is generally considered a great pillar of economic activity. However, if he or she invests in private rented accommodation and makes eight, ten or 20 units of accommodation available for letting, we almost automatically question the motive.

I would like us to have a fresh look at rental accommodation. It should be a very valid form of economic activity and social progress to invest money to provide rental accommodation, and our laws regarding landlords and tenants must obviously be reviewed. However, it should be proper to invest money to make rental accommodation available. On the other side of the equation, there should be absolute guarantees of security and fair rents for tenants. That is the one issue that we have never properly addressed. It will have to be part of the jigsaw of solutions that we require in a modern, more flexible society.

When discussing housing in general in the House, we obviously speak a great deal about social housing, a very good concept that I strongly supported over many years as a member of Cork County Council. However, I am disappointed that we have not advanced the social housing project as far as I thought we could have done. I appreciate that, with the Part V procedures, houses are, in a sense, only beginning to come on stream. The Minister of State and his colleagues will have to drive that much faster and more strongly. There appear to have been too many cases of local authorities and builders taking for ever to decide to trip the Part V mechanism. With 50,000 or 100,000 people seeking housing, we must advance this one method of resolving their needs.

On affordable and social housing in its broadest forms, shared ownership loans, something I very much supported in their early years when they were neither profitable nor popular as far as most people were concerned, have allowed many people to house themselves who otherwise could not have secured accommodation. We must examine the regulations concerning the shared ownership loans, the terms and guidelines, to ensure that more people qualify for such a loan. It is great when one is able to assist a person who had no great expectation of owning his or her own house to use the shared ownership system to enter the market, and we must expand that scheme.

From the perspective of local authority house building, I appreciate that if the Part V procedure works well, local authorities will be building, individually or directly, fewer than heretofore, but they will still continue to build a significant number. One issue that always concerns me, and on which I spoke at local authority level, was the delay in initiating building projects. We received an annual housing grant, and it could be 18 months, 24 months or, in some cases, three years before the houses were built. We appear to take a very conservative view of housebuilding in this country. Local authorities simply would not consider fast-build methods such as timber-frame or steel-frame construction. We have a very reputable steel-frame construction company in Cork. I would like to see local authorities using their money in such a way that the housing stock is built more quickly than hitherto.

Senator O'Toole raised very valid issues concerning installation, energy conservation and so on. Local authorities should take a lead in that regard. It is interesting that in Cork, the northern division of the county council, in conjunction with Blackwater Resource Development, the LEADER company, is conducting a pilot project on sustainable living. In the village of Lombardstown, which is not in my constituency, they are building 20 houses using a sustainable development concept, with all the necessary environmental measures, including solar panels and geothermal heating.

Our local authorities should be pioneers in that regard. However, energy conservation and broader environmentalism should be taken on board. I hope that the Minister will request the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, to provide grants in the budget for insulation and energy conservation in older housing stock. It is a necessity and will pay for itself financially and environmentally time and again. I ask that the Minister consider that suggestion.