Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to debate again what is a very important issue for all of us. We all acknowledge and recognise that the considerable housing challenge remains a challenge. Both the Government and Opposition will be measured by how they respond to it. I recognise the genuine intent of the proposers of the Bill and the concerns of both Senator Grace O'Sullivan and Senator Colette Kelleher, whom we have just heard. The two Senators have been practitioners at the coalface. Senator Kelleher has been involved in Cork Simon for many years. I recognise also the intent of the wider Civil Engagement group. It is important that Senators propose legislation and debate its pros and cons proactively. I welcome back to the House the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, whom I know is passionate about tackling this considerable crisis.

In general, we must examine the context of our current position. We must also take into perspective the dysfunction we have seen not only in our wider economy but also in the housing sector specifically. Access to credit has been a considerable problem for many families over recent years. There has been a broken lending system. Even when people are in a position to obtain credit to regenerate property they own, they find the banking system is not lending at a normal rate just yet. Builders, whom we require so much if we are to have sufficient housing capacity, are only finding their feet. This is an issue. When one speaks to builders, they say they are only now returning to building. The capacity to build has been seriously limited by the factors I have outlined.

As the system and wider economy normalise, we will begin to see a recovery in the housing sector. I share the genuine concerns of the proposers of the Bill and I commend the genuine commitment of the Government with regard to the Rebuilding Ireland programme. There are a number of pillars addressing various aspects of the housing challenge. There are numerous schemes aimed specifically at addressing the housing deficits. The policy is now in place, as is the strategy, and an unprecedented budget has been committed to in order to deliver on the strategy. We now need support across various sectors to deliver on the strategy and to do what is required and asked for in this Bill.

Unfinished estates comprise a good indicator of the rate of progress. When I was Minister of State, I worked on this and chaired a special committee that included all the stakeholders, including officials from the Department, local authorities and NAMA, in addition to other representatives. At the time, there were over 3,000 unfinished estates around the country that could have provided housing in a normal economy. Unfortunately, owing to the factors outlined, including those associated with builders, property owners and the lending system that was so dysfunctional, many sites remained derelict for many years. The good news is that considerable progress has been made on finishing the unfinished estates. Responsibility transferred from previous owners, who were possibly not in a position to finish the estates, to local authorities, voluntary housing bodies or private owners, who have now finished them. The number has been reduced from thousands to hundreds and there is daily progress in this regard. In our own respective local authority areas, we can identify the estates that were unfinished, derelict and dangerous but in which families are now living.

Let me turn to the Bill and the matter of derelict and vacant sites. The previous Government identified the issue of derelict sites, and the current Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, is continuing the work in this regard. The matter was legislated for through the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2016. I was involved in bringing much of the legislation through both Houses of the Oireachtas. There was deep scrutiny on Committee Stage. The points raised in today's Bill by Senators Grace O'Sullivan and Colette Kelleher were raised at that time also. I can now share with the House that when I was Minister of State, I wanted quicker registration of vacant and derelict sites and a higher sanction after registration. As I am sure the Minister will outline, however, the legal advice of the Attorney General had to be listened to. I agree that the derelict and vacant stock on the streets of our cities, towns and villages has considerable potential. There is no doubt but that it is logical to tackle this stock before we start building on greenfield sites around the country.The reason it is logical is because services like sewerage and water already exist in urbanised areas with serviced lands. There is no disagreement with the argument that we need to unlock the potential of these sites. The problem is the fact we have a Constitution that contains property rights. Whether we like it or not, under our Constitution as a free and democratic State, landowners and property owners have property rights. The Attorney General's advice at the time, about which the Minister can go into more detail, was that any provisions in new legislation must be fair and balanced. If a person owns property, there must be a fair and balanced approach if that property is to be impeded on in any way that might affect the owner's right. If a site is identified, and there is existing legislation under the Derelict Sites Act, that can be dealt with through the local authority system. Where there are vacant sites in areas with a strong housing demand, according to the advice of the Attorney General, there are legal risks associated with imposing sanctions on those sites without due recognition and a fair and appropriate period of time to allow the owners of those sites to either regenerate or dispose of them in an appropriate way. We are all agreed that we need to bring these sites back into beneficial use as soon as possible.

I also remember accepting an amendment from Deputy Wallace in the Dáil where the original proposal was to have larger sites that could be registered under this legislation. We reduced it to 0.05 ha. The feeling was that there are a number of urban streetscapes of smaller size with the potential to be brought back into use. It is something the Minister could look at and if possible, amend that part of the legislation. If not, I know he will outline why that is not possible.

It is all about what we do now to deliver on the ambitions of the Rebuilding Ireland strategy. We all have a role in this. This House and the Lower House have played a role in debating housing legislation. We also have a role in making sure that Rebuilding Ireland is delivered. The appropriate bodies are the housing authorities, which are the local authorities supported by voluntary housing associations and the NGOs, which play a very important role. There is nothing stopping these bodies, particularly local authorities, identifying these sites of potential in their local authority areas. There is nothing stopping them under existing legislation from notifying landowners that they intend to add the sites to a register of vacant and derelict sites and that a sanction will apply from 2019 onwards. I hope this notice will stimulate and motivate landowners to put those sites to use.

The funding, policy and legislation are now in place. It is now about delivery. It is about all of us supporting the Minister in his efforts and supporting local authorities, NGOs and voluntary housing bodies to get these houses built because it does take time. It takes planning, tendering and building before families can move in. I know, and I know the Minister is committed to this, that many of these projects are already under way. I hope to see, and I think we will see, the numbers of homeless people falling dramatically once the projects are delivered, the doors are opened and the keys are handed over to the families who so badly need them.