Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and welcome this debate on housing. There is a strong definable connection between housing policy and other areas of social policy. Studies have shown the connection between poor housing and ill-health and the link between housing and employment can be seen in both the difficulties of holding down employment while homeless and sustaining accommodation while unemployed. Strong links can be traced between housing and the availability of and access to social services. Inadequate housing can affect educational prospects and lead older people to an early entry to institutional care. In other words, suitable and sustainable housing provision is one of the most important issues entrusted to any Government and the current Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government has failed abysmally in its duty to provide affordable and sustainable housing across the sectors, leaving a legacy of poor planning and totally inadequate provision.

The Minister of State told the House that housing was high on the Government's agenda. I suggest he tells this to the thousands left on local authority housing lists for as long as this Government has been in office, which is more than nine years. They do not consider that the Government places them high on its agenda. No matter what the Minister tells us here today, the facts speak for themselves. A foot on the housing ladder for first-time buyers is a step too far for most. In a report published last month by Halifax, the plight of key public workers, including gardaí, teachers and nurses, is highlighted, showing that they are being priced out of the market in four of the five major cities in the country — Waterford, Cork, Galway and Dublin.

The Government is cashing in at the expense of young home seekers, rubbing salt into the already open wound by taking up to 50% of the excessive cost of a first home in stamp duty, VAT, development charges and other charges. What concessions the Minister has made in terms of stamp duty is the part adoption of a Fine Gael idea which we included in our party policy. However, the €317,500 threshold it adopted is €90,000 lower than the average price of a house for a first-time buyer in Dublin. Will the Minister of State commit to easing the burden for first-time buyers by abolishing stamp duty entirely, particularly in light of the Tánaiste's strongly held conviction that the Government no longer wants the €2 billion it raises annually from stamp duty?

The Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, stated recently in the Dáil and again in this debate that first-time buyers are the key buyers in the market and that 45% of mortgages taken out last year were taken by this sector, which, according to him, is a vindication of Government policy. What he did not mention is that, while first-time buyers may be forced to buy at inflated prices, this is done at a huge cost in terms of adverse effects on their quality of life for many years to come, as most of their resources must go towards putting a roof over their heads.

The Minister of State is aware that according to the recent census, despite the rising numbers of non-nationals, the population of Dublin increased by only 2% between 2002 and 2006. However, that of neighbouring areas increased dramatically, with Fingal showing a 22% increase, County Meath a 21% increase and County Kildare a 14% increase. This highlights the distances first-time buyers are forced to travel to their city of origin and work if they wish to purchase a house at a reasonable price, which puts a heavy strain on transport links and infrastructure.

The global house price boom of the past decade has been fired by a number of factors, one of which is the artificial restriction on the supply of land. New houses being built in Ireland are among the smallest in the developed world despite there being no shortage of land. While design and space issues have improved, these aspects contrast adversely with countries such as France, where the majority of new houses are of larger dimensions. With the economic boom leading to an increase in those trading up from smaller units, there consequently has been a surge in the price of large second-hand houses.

First-time buyers who are unable to get on the property ladder with a conventional mortgage must take out a 100% loan and then cling on at the very bottom of the ladder. In the event of a fall-off in house prices, they could well find themselves facing substantial negative equity, perhaps up to 20% of the value of the property. Given five interest rate increases since last December, the majority of first-time buyers are already in trouble. The average working couple is being forced to spend an extra €257 a month on mortgage repayments, with the increases eating into the income of these buyers. The Economist highlights the existence of a large bubble in the Irish market. For now, the property bubble shows no sign of bursting but the existing fundamentals suggest this cannot continue much longer, and any change will have a disastrous impact on the Irish economy.

The biggest problem facing young people today is the complete and utter failure of the Government to get to grips with the housing crisis. Its laissez-faire approach to rocketing house prices has sickened those held to ransom by the knock-on effects of its right-wing policies. Only 903 social housing units — 719 local authority units and 184 voluntary and co-operative units — were built in the first quarter of 2006 according to the housing statistics bulletin. Despite this, the Government's response to the housing crisis has been the abolition of the first-time buyer's grant, a failure to meet commitments on social housing in the national development plan, increased VAT rates on houses and development levies that will increase the cost of houses by an average of €10,000.

As a result of the increasing price of housing for first-time buyers, more and more young people are forced to live with their parents until they are in their mid-30s. According to the 2002 census, there are now on average 43,000 people over the age of 30 who live at home. No matter what way the Government spins, there are indisputably in excess of 43,000 families on local authority waiting lists. This figure is considered by many housing agencies as a gross under-estimation according to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government housing needs assessment.

A mere 707 units were provided under the various affordable housing schemes in the last three months of 2006. Only 3,723 social housing units were built in the 12 months to September 2005, despite the estimate by the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, that 10,000 units are needed annually. These are the facts and figures which no spin will hide. A mere 1,512 voluntary housing units were completed in the 12 months to September 2005, negating the promise in the 2002 programme for Government which states, "We will assist the voluntary housing sector so that the target of 4,000 accommodation units per annum envisaged under the National Development Plan can be reached." This is another false Government promise which is shattering the dreams of many young couples trying to get their first step on the housing ladder.

As we near the end of the reign of incompetence of the current Government, affordable housing is virtually non-existent. Some 100,000 individuals are still waiting for local authority houses and the voluntary sector is underdeveloped. There are still enough homeless people to fill the Point Depot — up to 5,000 people are without a home. Manifesto promises of more houses and a reduction of waiting lists are now a distant memory.

In the area of social housing the most neglected are men in their 40s or 50s who, owing to separation or other circumstances, find themselves out of the family home and in urgent need of accommodation. These men are in a catch-22 situation. They want to keep in touch with their children but without suitable housing cannot have them for weekend or holiday stays. The Government should give priority to the provision of small units to house these and other single people for whom the prospect of receiving a local authority house is bleak, despite their circumstances.

Shockingly there are 492 homeless children in Ireland. The majority of them are in their mid-to-late teens but, shamefully, some 22 homeless children are under the age of 12 according to figures compiled by the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health and Children. The highest number of homeless children was recorded in urban areas such as Dublin with 210, followed by the south with 132, the west with 46 and the mid-west with 43. The lowest level was in the north west where five children were homeless.

The Government's social and affordable housing strategy is nothing more than an indictment of its years in office. The lack of clear guidelines has led to difficulties in implementing legislation. Planning permissions are being granted without the number of social and affordable houses to be constructed being definitively outlined. When local authorities seek to enforce the provision of these units, they are often told that including them would be in breach of planning laws.

Some developers are using bullying tactics to avoid handing over 20% of houses in new estates for the accommodation of people on low-incomes. Some local authorities are not building social and affordable housing units, despite having the money to do so. The lack of clear guidelines on how Part V of the Planning and Development Act is implemented means that some developers are operating on a piecemeal basis and are avoiding their obligations. That is a fact and the Minister of State knows it as well as anybody else.

With houses at the top end of the market fetching figures beyond imagination, while in contrast mere infants being forced to live on the streets, it is easy to see where the current Government's priorities lie. The wealthy continue to prosper while the vulnerable and less well-off struggle to access housing, which is one of the most basic human needs. The provision of adequate housing involves a number of complex issues, including access, appropriateness, quality, environment, supply, affordability, choice of tenure and sustainability. For some, however, it is merely a dream which founders on broken Government promises and inaction.