Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, for whom it has been a long day. I commend him for this ambitious and bold document.

One of the key instruments of housing has to be the old-fashioned building programme undertaken by the local authorities. The Minister is to put 47,000 social units in place by 2021. Already that work is under way in Limerick. The Minister announced €9 million in funding to provide 50 homes spread throughout the city, with 24 on the Childers Road and another ten on Sexton Street North, in Thomondgate and Kileely Court. There will be 12 on Burke Avenue and four near Athlunkard Boat Club towards Corbally. While funding is extremely important, what is often overlooked is the timeframe between funding being granted and housing being built. It has to be fast-tracked as the process can often be very slow. It is not just about funding being allocated but also about the speed at which they are built. The 50 homes to be allocated represent a start. There is a large local authority housing waiting list in Limerick.

Limerick City and County Council is carrying out an assessment of housing need in Limerick. Forms will be sent to all those on the housing waiting list by the end of July. They will need to be returned to the local authority by 21 September. I urge everyone who receives the form to ensure it is completed. If they have queries, they should go to the local authority, but they must get the form back in as we need to operate with crystal clear data. It is most important that everyone who should be on the waiting list be on it. All too frequently reviews have been carried out and people dropped from the list. This may be because the form is inadvertently sent to an incorrect address or people just do not return it. Those who believe they are on the housing waiting list but do not receive a letter by the end of July - the form may have been sent to a different address - should go to the housing section of the local authority on Merchants Quay and put their case to it.

I will make some observations on the proposals made. I very much welcome the proposal to provide 47,000 social housing units. It is critical that the programme get under way and become a sustained policy of the Government. Towards the latter end of 2000 it had dropped off and the private sector was picking it up. The private sector is also important. It is extremely important to have a social building programme in every village, town and city on a consistent basis. The target to build 25,000 annually is ambitious but achievable.

The document refers to first-time buyers and I understand it will be brought forward as a budgetary proposal. It is critical that no measure introduced lead to a rise in the price of houses for first-time buyers. We need a supply and a demand element to ensure first-time buyers will have an incentive to buy property at a reduced price.

Regarding town and village renewal, there are many villages in east Limerick, including Murroe, Cappamore, Caherconlish, Castleconnell and Ballyneety. It is extremely important that something be put in place - I know that it is mentioned in the document - to encourage people to live and work in these areas. I know that the Minister has made reference to this, but it needs to work easily. It could be in the form of grants or on some other basis, as there may be some other mechanism that could be introduced. We must, however, make it attractive for people to live and work in villages which are all integrated and extremely important.

This is very much a working document and I commend the Minister for introducing it in such a short time period. As he stated yesterday, he is looking for further ideas to advance the housing plan in place.