Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

I would like to share time with Senators Henry and Ross.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, to the House and this opportunity to speak on housing, an issue that we all know is among the economic challenges that continue to face us. The reason relates in part to those not able to afford a home of their own and who are reliant on local authority or social housing. There are also single people in jobs and young married couples who, because of the affordability issue, cannot buy homes in areas that they might have expected when growing up. We see ever more people forced to move further away from where they grew up in cities and towns and into country areas. Their moving away from home will create other issues in future.

Local authorities should go out on the open market and buy houses throughout the country. They should not be tied to their own local authority area. Perhaps I might take Galway city as an example. There is no reason that Galway city should not be able to buy small numbers of houses in new developments all around the county, renting them through the social housing scheme to people on its housing list. When I left Galway City Council two years ago, the housing list had approximately 1,300 or 1,400 people on it. I imagine that it is now well past 2,000, owing to the changes that have happened.

If we are to have any hope of housing those people within a realistic timeframe, we must do something radical and new. Regarding how we are to pay for those houses, I point out that we spend a fortune every week in this country providing rent allowance to private landlords. That rent allowance would pay back any mortgage gained on a long-term investment from the bank. If we had a method allowing the local authority to borrow the money from a bank or an Exchequer fund, paying it back with money already being expended on rent allowance, we would ultimately have people housed in accommodation and completely integrated throughout the whole country. No large local authority estates would be built to store up future social problems. We would have true integration and better housing stock throughout the country at no additional cost. I would like the Minister of State to take that on board.

At a previous discussion in this House, I raised the issue of stamp duty, which I know does not come under the Minister's brief. I have stated before that no stamp duty should be paid on family homes or by first-time buyers. If I am in a family home but am moving to a bigger one or a different area, I should not pay stamp duty when I sell up. It is a tax on the family that should not be paid. One can quite justifiably increase stamp duty on second or third homes, progressively raising the rate. If people can afford to buy a second or third house, they should pay the tax that it is their duty to pay, and I apologise to no one on that account. However, there should be no stamp duty for first-time buyers or on a family home. If one has a family home and is moving to a second one, there should be no stamp duty.

I would also like to raise the issue of Part V. It may not have been the best idea to allow developers to pay off their commitment under Part V of the planning process. I was disappointed when that changed. From the perspective of integration, I would much rather see one, two or three houses in all sorts of areas throughout the country available for people to buy under the affordable and social housing schemes.

I am disappointed that happened but I recognise we have yet to see the full benefit of the scheme. We should examine it closely. A considerable amount of money is being made by people in the construction industry and property market and those who have benefited most are the property developers. The landowners who sold land have certainly been well paid therefor, but the land they sell is sold two or three times thereafter, doubling in value each time. This needs to be addressed and we need to say to developers that if they are to continue to make the money they are now making, they must pay their due back to society.