Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This Bill is about enabling the right to housing, particularly at the average price in Dublin. That would be the maximum loan amount, with people being helped into the market at no higher than that level. At the root of the Bill is a social good and fairness and we need to consider it seriously.

I was disappointed by the response of the Minister of State, Deputy English. He stated that he was unclear on what added value would be provided by the Bill. It gives the impression that the Government is not at the races on this issue.I do not believe that is the case. Rather, I believe the Bill has not been scrutinised adequately to ascertain what it can provide. Everyone is speaking of rent certainty but housing certainty is what is required.

Every week, one or two families in Galway present to me as homeless. I attended a meeting in Galway City Council last Friday where I learned that between 12 and 20 families present as homeless every week in the city council area. These figures do not include the county council area. Approximately 40% of the population of Galway relies on the rental sector for a home, which is the highest proportion in the country. The Government's proposals to provide new homes and increase housing supply are welcome. However, 90% of the new housing is to be located in Dublin, whereas Galway city has the highest proportion of population reliant on the rental sector of any city. The Government's approach to housing provision is not correct.

The other day, I knocked on a man's door and asked him how things were and what issues were important to him. He told me he was fine because he had at last become a home owner, whereas none of his peers owned a home. I would guess he was 39 or 40 years old. For a society that has valued home ownership for so long, it is now beyond people's reach. The Minister of State will know that.

Mortgage distress has been an issue since the bust. As everyone accepts, the downturn was caused by the previous Government. We have a major crisis and Senator Barrett has providing us with a vehicle for addressing it. His Bill provides for greater competition in the market and would put it up to the banks that are disrespecting us. Many speakers noted the new requirement that withdrawals at Bank of Ireland branches must be at least €700. The other day, I was informed by a person in Oranmore that Bank of Ireland would not allow withdrawals of more than €1,300 in one day. That is the other side of the equation. The person in question wondered why Bank of Ireland was imposing controls on money that did not belong to it. These developments make one think about what may be coming down the line.

The Bill provides for a new vehicle that would be allowed to borrow at interbank rates, would carry the status of the sovereign and would benefit end users. This tool would enable people to access mortgages for properties that are at or below the average price of a home. It would help address the problem of homelessness. The reason people are becoming homeless is that they are being given notice from landlords who want to raise rents or put their properties on the market. I do not know where I will be able to find housing for people. When I contact the council I find it does not have houses to allocate. Officials from Galway City Council, at the meeting I attended last Friday, expressed concern about the health of staff in its housing section, such is the stress they are experiencing.

Developers will not build housing because of the current high levels of charges. Many of them are still angry because they believe they lost heavily. They have decided to sit this out because the average increase for a semi-detached house is working out at €25,000.

As Senator Michael D'Arcy stated, the smart move would be to accept the Bill in principle. None of us is arguing that it is the finished product. The Government should allow it to proceed to Committee Stage, at which point it can be tweaked and improved to ensure it is robust and sound. The questions that arise with regard to EU regulations can be worked out at that stage. The Government had decided instead to shoot the messenger by opposing a Bill that seeks to address the core problem in society. It fails to see the bigger picture. This is not what the Government is about.