Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh na díospóireachta seo ar Bhille na dTithe (Forálacha Ilghnéitheacha) 2008. Nuair a fhéachann muid ar chóras na dtithe sa tír, níl dabht ar bith go bhfuil muid i gcruachás. Nuair a fheiceann muid go bhfuil 44,000 teaghlaigh nó daoine aonaracha ar liosta feithimh na gcomhairlí contae ar fud an Stáit, léiríonn sin an cruachás. Chomh maith leis sin, tá 36,000 páiste ina gcónaí in árasáin a bhfuil droch dóigh orthu. Rud is measa fós, tá 5,000 duine gan teach agus iad ina gcónaí ar na sráideanna, i mbrúnna nó, i dtithe leaba agus bricfeasta ar fud na tíre nó in árasáin práinneacha.

Tá seo uilig ag tarlú i ndiaidh deich mbliana den tíogar Ceilteach agus i ndiaidh deich mbliana inar tógadh na mílte tithe go príobháideach. Má amharcann muid ar na figiúirí i dtaobh 2006, feiceann muid gur tógadh 80,000 tithe príobháideacha sa Stát. Léiríonn sin go bhfuil córas na dtithe sa tír agus an stráitéis atá ag an Rialtas ó thaobh tithe de go huafásach ar fad. Tá na figiúirí os ár gcomhair. Chonaic muid na figiúirí ó dhaonáireamh 2006 a léirigh go raibh 70,050 teach folamh sa Stát. Níl a fhios agam cén dóigh inar féidir le Rialtas nó Aire ar bith bheith sásta leis na figiúirí sin nuair atá 5,000 duine sa Stát gan díon.

I welcome the debate on the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008. Both the debate and the legislation are important, as undoubtedly our housing system is in crisis. Almost 44,000 households are on local authority housing waiting lists throughout the State. These households include 36,000 children who are living in inadequate or inappropriate accommodation. At the most acute end of housing need, 5,000 homeless people are living on the streets, in hostels, bed and breakfast or other forms of emergency accommodation.

The recent housing boom, during which 80,000 private sector houses were completed in 2006, our housing system and Government housing policy continue to fail those most in need. The most graphic demonstration of this was revealed in the 2006 census, which found that there were 270,000 vacant dwellings throughout the Twenty-six Counties, including houses, flats and holiday homes. In Dublin alone, 10,000 unsold properties remain on the private market, many of which are two and one-bedroom properties and some of which must be suitable for providing long-term homes for people experiencing homelessness. This was the position during a time of economic growth. What will be the levels of housing need 12 months into the recession? These are some of the issues that Members must ensure are catered for in the Bill when it is considered on Committee Stage. One already gets some sense of the coming difficulties, as charities such as Simon, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Threshold, Focus Ireland and Merchants Quay Ireland all report a significant recent increase in demand for their services. I commend these organisations and thank them for providing Members with information in advance of today's debate. This is the context in which Members must debate the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008. The question one must address is whether its contents will assist in making the position better or worse.

Sinn Féin welcomes the commitment of the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with responsibility for housing, Deputy Michael Finneran, to improve housing services. Moreover, as the Bill primarily is intended to provide a legislative footing for the 2007 policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, it holds out potential for progress with regard to housing regulation and provision. However, on first reading it is clear the Bill is deficient in a number of ways and I signal to this House today that it is our party's intention to bring forward detailed constructive amendments on Committee Stage in the Seanad and, if necessary, the Dáil to strengthen the Bill.

Sinn Féin has a number of initial concerns that I would like to highlight. The Bill, for the first time, provides a statutory definition of social housing. Unfortunately this definition not only includes social housing as we generally understand it, namely, local authority and voluntary sector housing, but also tenant purchase and the rental accommodation scheme. This is a very dangerous move as it signals the Government's intention to move away once again from direct provision of public housing in favour of sale or private rental sector options.

The Government is already significantly behind on the national development plan commitments in terms of social housing build. It is even further away from the National Economic and Social Council 2005 recommendation to ensure the State has a total social housing stock of 200,000 units. In this context, such a dilution of the legal definition of social housing can only mean one thing: the further erosion of Government commitments to ensure the State has a sufficient stock of social housing to meet the needs of those who continue to languish on local authority waiting lists.

It is also disappointing that the issue of homelessness is not addressed in this Bill. The Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, launched the Government's new homeless strategy, The Way Home, in August. The centrepiece of the new strategy is the objective of ending long-term homelessness by 2010. That date is fast approaching and many of the legislative commitments promised in the strategy could and must be included in this Bill.

Sinn Féin is also concerned about the lack of detail with respect to the anti-social behaviour strategies contained in the Bill. We have long argued for stronger powers and more resources to enable local authorities to respond effectively to anti-social behaviour problems. In principle, the development of anti-social behaviour strategies is a good thing but the legislation lacks clarity and detail.

We want to be constructive in this debate. We want to work with the Government and other parties to improve this Bill. In this spirit I stress that we believe the Bill to be a valuable opportunity, if positively amended, to empower local authorities to provide better housing services, especially to those in greatest need. I urge the Minister of State to approach Committee Stage with an open mind and heart. We can shape this Bill into something deserving of all communities across the State.