Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I would like to address very briefly news reports from this evening on comments made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, who called on social justice campaigner, Fr. Peter McVerry, to be more positive in his comments on the housing and homelessness crisis. However, as we are all aware, Fr. Peter McVerry, who works at the coalface, knows more than most the reality of this crisis. Sometimes it is not easy to sugar-coat what is a dire situation. It is important that we, the Government and the Minister recognise that comments made by such campaigners are constructive, with people's best interests and well-being at heart and the desire to find a long-term sustainable solution. It is important we remember that and I, for one, would like the Seanad to distance itself from some of those comments made this afternoon.

However, in the vein of remaining positive, there is nothing negative in what the Labour Party has stated in its motion. While it succeeds in outlining some of the problems in terms of the housing and homelessness crisis, it proceeds to use the motion to perhaps self-congratulate itself and give itself a pat on the back.

I would like to touch on some of the issues at hand. Much has been said about the private rented market, an issue on which I would like to touch, as well as the strategy in regard to it. We must remember the private rented market will not alleviate this problem, which is deeply entrenched. A number of Senators mentioned that the State, through local authorities, has far too low a stake in housing and has failed miserably a section of society for which the private rented market is unwilling or, indeed unable to provide. Private landlords are not in the business of renting rooms out of the goodness of their hearts and to believe so would be naive.

Of the 7,400 homes promised by this Government, it is clear that approximately 5,000 will come from the private market. The plan, for the most part, is not necessarily to build or acquire homes for rent by local authorities but to provide access to 5,000 private homes through long-term leasing or shorter term arrangements with private landlords. It is important to be aware of the realities of the private market.

As many Senators mentioned, we have more than 200,000 people in need of housing in the State and many are children who are living in emergency accommodation, sleeping on couches and sharing beds, very often in houses essentially not fit for habitation, whether damp or otherwise. I cannot count the number of friends who have struggled and have had to settle for extortionate rent rates for very poor quality accommodation. I am sure we all have stories about people queueing outside an apartment for almost an hour only to be turned away before they could view it. From where will these 5,000 private rented properties come? If they are not delivered, what will happen next? What is the alternative? What is the contingency plan? There has not been enough building or refurbishment of many of these homes.

As was mentioned, the crisis is continuing to escalate with almost 90,000 people on the social housing waiting list, and at a time when rents are rapidly increasing and the number of homes available is decreasing. The statistics show that. The solution will not be a case of waving a magic wand but it will be very multifaceted. The two main prongs of it are relatively simple. We need to build more social housing, through local authorities, by investing in local authority housing and supporting local authorities in creating arm's length trusts that can raise finance to build, as needed. The plan currently is to subsidise further private landlords and developers who are already getting €0.5 billion per year. We are hoping they will build thousands of houses for rent, despite their failure to do so to date.

As mentioned by many Senators and the Minister of State, some type of regulation of the rental market is required. This would set a market rate not purely based on the desperation of renters to have a roof over their heads but on the quality of accommodation and the consumer price index. It would limit the ability of landlords to raise rents to a certain percentage between and during tenancies. These measure would foster a more secure rental market and encourage more responsible and professional landlords into the private market.

The evidence to date clearly shows the only solution is more housing and cheaper housing. It is the responsibility of the Government of the day to deliver such housing. We subsidise the private market by nearly €0.5 billion a year. Therefore, we need to make sure we provide housing and that the vast bulk of funding is invested in real social housing to be provided by local authorities. That is my contribution.