Michael McCarthy (Labour)

Before the summer, the Daft.ie survey priced a three-bed semi in the Clonakilty region at €350,000, the most expensive town in Ireland in which to buy a home. I could show the Minister of State hundreds of couples and families in the area who cannot afford to buy their home at these prices and they face a shortage of social and affordable housing.

It seems nothing has changed since the Minister of State was here last. In December 2005 only 1,294 units had been completed under Part V out of a total output of 300,000 houses over a period of four years. That is not a record to be proud of. I would hang my head in shame if I was following Ministers into the Dáil lobby to support that kind of inactivity, inertia and neglect of the thousands of people in need.

Every time we debate this issue, housing has got more expensive. House prices are now 13.8% more expensive than they were this time last year. In the House in December 2002 we fought vehemently against the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, but he decided to gift 70,000 planning permissions to developers. No Christmas stocking was ever before filled to the tune of 70,000 planning permissions. That was the stage at which the then Minister began to dismantle Part V of the Act.

Does the Minister of State think it was a good idea to abolish the first-time buyers' grant? Does the Government have any intention of reintroducing such a grant? The grant was abolished so soon after the election that it seems the Government hopes people will forget about it before its term of office expires. I have consistently reminded people coming to me with questions about the grant not to forget about it. It might not have been much money to some people, as the then Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, said at the time. He was in Cheltenham the same week we debated the issue in the House. It might not be much to those in Cheltenham, but four years ago €3,000 was a significant sum to those who needed to put together a deposit to enable them get a mortgage for their home.

As if the abolition of the grant was not bad enough, the same Minister decided to increase development charges. These are attached to planning permissions when granted and they exist for good reason. However, there has been a significant increase in development charges. One-off rural houses in my area attract development charges of €4,000, €5,000 or €6,000. The larger the square footage, the higher the charge. I have repeatedly asked planning officials where the money collected in development charges has been spent. Has it been spent on footpaths, public lighting, a playground or a crèche?

I have seen no evidence of the money being spent, but I have seen people put to the pin of their collar to put together a mortgage to build a house. Before they ever bring in a machine to clear the site, the Government has cost them the first-time buyers' grant of €3,000 and they have had to pay out upwards of €3,000 or €4,000 in development charges, not far from a total of €10,000. Many of these are floating voters who voted for this Government, but they are now worse off to the tune of €10,000. That is not good enough.

It is the case that in the Clonakilty region stricter planning restrictions apply closer to the water and this information is contained in the development plans. I refer to a case of a couple who had agreed a price for a site and went through the planning process. The planners were not in favour of granting a permission for the particular part of the landholding. This occurred in the south-western area which is near the sea with panoramic and scenic views, so the price of land is expensive. The couple were refused permission for that part of the landholding. They could have used another part but the price would be prohibitive. Planning permission has been refused and they are now on a list for affordable and social housing in their region.

There seems to be a lack of joined-up thinking. Local government is the agent of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in the area and they do not allow somebody to build a house on a site for a price they can afford to pay. This creates an increased demand on local affordable and social housing where there is already a shortage.

The State has gifted land outside Clonakilty. It is quite a good scheme and has been through the consultation period. Affordable housing units will be built there even though there was some resistance from people who should and do know better. I refer to an Adjournment matter on this subject raised in the other House recently. This scheme should be replicated all over the country. If it can be done here, it can be done in other areas. I just wish the timescale was not so long but this may be due to circumstances outside the control of those present.

Will the Minister of State allow tenants of small local authority units such as two-bedroomed and one-bedroomed units to avail of the tenant purchase scheme? I refer to a case in Dublin last spring where long-term tenants of local authority flats were allowed purchase them. I am not aware of a roll-out of this scheme to any other part of the country. Tenants of three-bedroomed and four-bedroomed houses are allowed purchase their units and I do not understand the difficulty posed by extending that right to avail of the tenant purchase scheme to a tenant in a smaller unit. I acknowledge there is an argument to be made for retaining some of those units for future applicants for social housing. However, I ask the Minister of State to consider treating like with like and giving those tenants the same right to purchase their unit as the person with the two or three-bedroomed unit.

The roll-out of affordable housing is progressing far too slowly. The Minister of State is aware of the geography of the area to which I refer. Areas such as Kinsale, Ballydehob, Schull and Clonakilty are areas where financial circumstances are more exceptionally difficult than in other parts of the region. People who cannot afford to buy houses in those areas regard the affordable housing initiative and the services site as the one bright hope. I have seen the difference this has made to couples and there is no reason it should not be happening at a quicker rate to allow people who have housing rights and need to buy their home at an affordable price.

I ask the Minister of State to address the question of tenants in smaller local authority units not being allowed buy their homes. The shared ownership scheme does not seem to be well publicised because I do not see enough end product from this scheme. The principle is novel and excellent but there is a very small take-up. I do not know if this is due to the price being paid.

I wish to bring to the attention of the Minister of State the county council scheme for improvement works in lieu of housing and the county council rural housing scheme. In one case, the county council intends to build a rural house for a family. The report on their current accommodation by a council engineer was carried out the day aeroplanes hit the twin towers. I need not remind the Minister of State of that date, which is more than five years ago. The same family have been moved out of the house and are in temporary accommodation and the local authority has still not expedited this project beyond sending plans and maps to the county architect's department. This is a disgrace. I do not blame the Minister of State but it is an issue of which he needs to be aware in the context of how local authorities operate. It is frustrating to write and receive a response stating the case is being investigated but it is not right in this day and age to allow somebody's housing needs to deteriorate to such an extent and not advance the case.

It should be a case of giving somebody living in a rural area the house they want to live in. There has not been any clear relaxation in the manner in which planners approach the county development plans. If these guidelines are adhered to I will be the first to say it and the first to praise the Minister if deserved. However, there has not been any relaxation of the guidelines.

I refer to the case of a house which is half a mile down a country lane, out in the middle of nowhere. It is screened by trees on the north, west, east and south of the site and it cannot be seen from the road but the planner wants to cut back the front porch of the house. This is beyond belief. I doubt if the planner ever went out to visit the site or else wires have been crossed. All these issues are related to housing. If the planners at local authority level are persistent in a very strict interpretation of the development plan, more people will be in chaos with regard to housing.