Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Bill amends section 31(5) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and I will not go through the technical detail of the amendments and deletions it makes as the Minister of State has already done so. I welcome this legislation, the primary objective of which is to achieve a level of harmonisation of local authority rents at national level in order to prevent huge variations from one area to another.

It is important to stress this will not preclude the determination or the drawing up of a rental scheme by local authorities in their own areas. We are always talking about the devolution of functions. It is very important that functions which are devolved to local authorities are left there and, indeed, we look forward to further devolution of functions to local authorities. It is critical that any assessment of local authority rent charged to an individual takes account of his or her ability to pay. This is what differentiates social housing from private housing and that objective is central to the new legislation. There will be a differential rent scheme to the extent that a person's ability to pay will be the key determinant and the Bill will seek to ensure there will not be a huge variation in rents from county to county.

It is important that this would happen. Many initiatives have been introduced by the Minister of State's colleague in the Department of Social Protection, particularly with regard to the job activation scheme, which fits job training opportunities and individuals, and focuses on the individual as a recipient of welfare and as an active jobseeker.

I am glad the Minister of State mentioned rent supplement and the part that will play. That must be the philosophy. Everyone presenting for a rent subsidy should also be assessed individually and, if appropriate accommodation is available within the local authority housing programme, an offer should be made. Rent supplement should be a secondary response where there is no possibility of the provision of accommodation from the local authority.

The Minister of State mentioned the housing assistance payment scheme, about which we have not heard enough. Perhaps she would elaborate further on it. Ten minutes before I came to the House, I was contacted by somebody who wanted to take up a part-time job, but because she was in receipt of rent supplement it was not worth her while taking up that job because she would lose a certain amount. This girl was really willing to take up that part-time job. I welcome the announcement about the housing assistance payment scheme and would welcome more information on it from the Minister of State.

In addition to the financial side of owning a house, we must consider the need for people to settle down. It is better for people if they are living in, getting to know and being part of their communities rather than moving from one rental scheme to another. The Minister of State has said on occasion that having people look upon their communities as their own and work in those communities is part of her philosophy. In respect of the rent allowance scheme, where children are going to school and established in a social infrastructure, it is unreasonable to uproot them and take them from one town to another just because a local authority house is available in that area. I know the Minister of State's philosophy on that, and she has spoken on many occasions about social cohesion.

I commend the RAS as it is a very good case of direct local authority provision. Integration of the RAS, the housing assistance scheme, the rent supplement scheme and housing policy generally is necessary and the Bill will achieve that aim. It is reforming legislation. We must recognise that the rental accommodation market has increased radically. The number of people renting in Ireland in both the private and local authority sectors has increased by 47% since 2006. To an extent, we are becoming more like the continental Europeans and house ownership as a first option is fading, maybe out of necessity in many instances. We have to accommodate this new reality. Past legislation has given rise to tenants' rights that did not exist in the past and that makes tenants more secure in rented accommodation. The Government's response in that area is integrated.

With the RAS and long-term leases, local authority tenants do not have the prospect of purchasing their houses. This is critical because it means they do not have the responsibility of looking after them and becoming part of the community. If we want to develop more responsible citizens in communities, home ownership is important in the community building process. I do not know if the Minister of State has carried out an evaluation of the period when local authorities used to sell properties to tenants to ensure they bedded down in a community rather than moved on and out of the community, or an examination of whether they could be allowed to purchase their homes again. I accept that financial pressures are significant and nearly every debate in the House is premised on that. I know the Minister of State with responsibility for the NewERA project, Deputy O'Dowd, said on Second Stage in the other House that in ideal circumstances there would be a notable ongoing programme and that it is intended to ramp up construction as soon as possible. Could the Minister of State tell us what she envisages in that regard?

With regard to housing adaptation grants, there are increasing numbers of people eligible for these grants who are being told more or less that unless they have some critical medical condition, they will not see the adaptation work done in the next couple of years. It is not fair to build up the hope that there is a scheme in place if it is there in theory but not in practice. It should be either scrapped or designated for certain people to let people know where they stand. Again, it is a question of giving people continuity, if they can get their houses repaired because they are dilapidated rather than moving house.

The Minister of State has said a lot about the rental accommodation scheme. I know that many landlords do not take people from the housing list because they have a choice, particularly in the Dublin area. There are 100,000 families on the housing list. In my own area, south Dublin, there are 10,500 families on the list. We must face up to the growing problem in housing provision, especially in Dublin and other major urban areas. The DAFT website shows that today 2,300 properties are available to rent in Dublin. There is a problem and I thank the Minister of State for bringing this reforming legislation before the House today. I welcome it.