Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Like other Senators, I thank Senator Barrett for all the hard work that he and his team have put into drafting this Bill. I also thank Senators Quinn and Crown who proposed the Bill. As has been mentioned, the Bill deals with an issue of major social importance but it is also politically and economically important. The aim of the Bill is admirable. It seeks to create a system where housing is not just reliant on the private for-profit sector. The Bill should progress to the next Stage and I ask the Government to reconsider its stance.

It is important to stress at this time that home ownership is not the most important issue, which is housing. It is a common mistake to treat housing as a speculative commodity whose purpose is to create profit for developers, speculators and investors rather than treating it as structures that serve the basic human need for shelter and sanctuary. We do not have a functioning market and pretending that we do does us and the people that we represent a disservice.

The extent of the homelessness problem in Dublin and across the State has been well documented and it is a shameful situation. On a daily basis I meet families in mortgage distress, I meet individuals who have banks forcibly selling their homes and I also know families who have lost their homes. People who have applied for emergency accommodation have told me that they have been told that they must wait to join the emergency accommodation process and it is only then that they might have a chance of getting a hotel room or staying in bed and breakfast accommodation. When people ask what they should do in the meantime, they have been told to find somewhere to live because it is assumed it is easy to find accommodation. Hundreds of thousands of people are experiencing this level of damage in this State and it is happening in my own county and in everyone's county.

We have a housing crisis. That fact is undeniable and even the dogs on the street know it is true. The crisis covers all aspects whether it is mortgages, renting and homelessness. The crisis is not unique to one area or demographic, and affects the young, the old, families, single people and those with work and those without work. Surely at this stage the penny should have dropped that the banks have not looked after people and failed society in many ways. It is apparent that talking to the banks does not work. Appealing to their humanity and moral duty does not work.

Failure to deal with mortgage arrears, bankers' pay and making the banks play ball in insolvency cases has been well documented. The Government has put banks first. Senator Darragh O'Brien mentioned that the Minister for Finance has danced to the banks' tune but in return, banks have pocketed the gains and have made new demands. This vicious cycle must end. In a stable prosperous society everyone should live in functional, comfortable, warm and affordable housing. Now it is apparent to all that the bailed out banks that operated recklessly prior to the financial collapse have acted appallingly during the mortgage crisis of the past number of years and, unfortunately, such behaviour has been facilitated. It will be forever to the shame of the Dáil and Seanad that this Oireachtas removed the legal protection that would have prevented many family homes being taken by the banks. The code of conduct has been amended so that banks can put even more pressure on home owners and now the Central Bank is able to count repossessions as solutions. We are supposed to believe that things are getting back to normal but things were never normal at any stage. The system has a huge flaw where a credit bubble inflated house prices for workers, while bankers and developers profited. When the bubble burst workers had to pay and we can all see that they are still paying today.

I recognise that this Bill is an attempt to separate the interest of profit from the interest of citizens who need houses to live in. The legislation has set out to decommodify housing which is essential to avoid housing bubbles. Ireland is in the midst of another housing bubble which has been driven by the commodification of housing and the treatment of housing as an investment. Bubbles are only one part of the market failure in housing. Another major problem is the failure of supply and demand to respond smoothly, especially at the lower end of the market. I welcome that this Bill aims to solve some of these issues.

The supply side of the housing problem that is at play affects nearly everyone in Ireland. It especially affects young people and people who are average and low-income earners. Addressing the supply side of the problem can only be successful if a property bubble does not exist, especially in the main urban centres like Dublin. Rocketing house prices and countless years without a real growth in wages have resulted in home ownership being unattainable for a lot of people in Irish society. On top of this, the paucity of social housing units has caused a catastrophe in that sector and forced people who should be given social housing into the private rental market. That situation has led to the swelling of the number of people in the private rental market thus creating a rental bubble as part of the larger property bubble which has forced people out of the private rental market and into homelessness.

The goal of any legislation or regulation should be to prevent housing bubbles and create a sustainable housing sector. Progress on mortgage regulation without progress in the building of social housing, a lack of rent controls and no improvement in the rights of tenants risks creating a trap where people, particularly young people, are unable to save due to the cost of accommodation and also cannot buy due to the loan-to-value rules.

Sinn Féin wants this important legislation to pass to the next Stage. The legislation is a measured and appropriate response. It is a major step and a necessary move in these extraordinary times. The market has failed people in the provision of homes so intervention is needed to provide a functioning and fair system.