Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

The Minister of State would be more than welcome.

I join with Senators O'Malley and Hannigan in raising my concerns regarding homelessness. Representatives from the Simon Communities of Ireland are due to appear tomorrow before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs to make a presentation on all matters pertaining to housing. I am particularly concerned about homelessness as I am spokesperson for social and family affairs. As for the definition of the word, "homeless", it does not necessarily mean one does not have a house. That is not the only reason as one can be sleeping on someone's couch or be in emergency accommodation and still be homeless. It does not pertain simply to those who are sleeping rough and Members will concur that thousands of people are homeless.

This is a value for money issue and the Minister of State mentioned a figure of €53 million. While this constitutes an enormous sum of money, a great deal of it is being spent on emergency accommodation and people are living in appalling long-term emergency accommodation. I believe proper homes must be found for such people as it is a human right to have a proper home and to live in comfort with one's family. I encourage those Members of the Oireachtas who will be present tomorrow to listen to what the Simon Communities of Ireland delegation has to say.

The Midlands Simon Community has a resettlement programme that is not about the provision of hostels or homes for the homeless. It is about helping people, who are addicted or down on their luck, to sustain a living. It is about helping them to budget and to get on the property ladder by being able to have a house. Often such people do not have an address and it is almost impossible for them to register with the local authority. The Simon Community, in its resettlement programme in the midlands, is doing Trojan work. I am acutely aware of the work it is doing and I commend them on it. Homelessness is not just a Dublin issue, it pertains to the entire country.

The second issue I want to address relates to affordable housing. In my role as a county councillor before I was elected to the Seanad, I made a considerable number of representations on behalf of people wishing to avail of the affordable housing scheme. Sadly, the number of units available this year in my area of Westmeath is 97, 45 of which will be under the 1999 scheme where the local authority build the affordable housing. It is envisaged that will not happen in future. There were only 54 under Part V. In an environment where there has been a considerable amount of house building, the amount is so small that I question the direction of our affordable housing policy in the future.

I have a suggestion for the Minister which I would like to put on the record of the House. There should be negotiations with developers in relation to all of the vacant houses which are on the market for a number of months and have not been sold. It is time for councils and county managers to re-negotiate with developers and perhaps clear the backlog of people who are trying to get affordable housing. Athlone is a gateway town and, therefore, we are trying to double our population. There are 600 people on the social housing list in that area. Perhaps the councils around the country could enter discussions with developers who have these gluts of houses. It might counteract the cutbacks and provide greater value for money for local authorities.

This year we, in the Westmeath area, have €600,000 less in the budget for essential repairs grants and disabled persons' grants and we have made an application for further funding. Only yesterday I was approached by a lady whose application had been approved and who had been in contact with the council only to find that there is no money in the coffers. She has borrowed the money for a chair lift for her severely handicapped child. She is also caring for her mother who has Alzheimer's disease. The lady is sitting there with a lender shouting at her and no money forthcoming from the local authority.

I am also aware that some local authorities means test their grants for disabled persons. Means testing is a good idea and it should be uniform throughout the country. I am aware that a means test applies in County Waterford, for instance, and I wonder is there a likelihood that a means test will apply all over the country. It is outrageous that somebody who is extraordinarily well off can get a grant to do up his or her house.

The Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, spoke about housing policy and sustainability. I was shocked to read the article in The Sunday Tribune on elderly persons and pensioners having to choose between food and fuel. Some of these pensioners' houses are so old that they have no insulation. Senators O'Malley and Hannigan both referred to sustainability. I am aware of a number of elderly pensioners who cannot afford to heat their houses and who, when they do, must go without food. That is a harsh reality. We need to investigate ways of helping the elderly. There are ways of insulating such homes and installing new windows, etc. I would encourage the Government to do this.

The Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, also spoke about a disability strategy and an older person's policy. I await both of those policy documents. He did not mention a budget for either. How much money has been allocated for this?

Anti-social behaviour is an issue, especially in local authority housing estates. We all have spoken here about the Social Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. Will there be any reference to anti-social behaviour in that Bill? Anti-social behaviour, due to drugs and alcohol, is the scourge of local authority housing estates. I ask that this area be investigated and legislation in this regard introduced.