Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá mé thar a bheith sásta go bhfuilimid anseo arís ag plé na ceiste seo. Is dóigh gurb é seo ceann de na crua-ceisteanna atá againn sa tír seo i láthair na huaire. Ba mhaith liom tréaslú leis an ngrúpa sibhialta a thug chun cinn an Bille seo arís eile. Tá sé fíorthábhachtach go gcoinneofaí an cheist seo i lár an tábla oibre atá againn.

Chuaigh mé féin ag cuartú figiúirí le deireanas maidir leis na méid suíomhanna díomhaoine atá i nGaillimh. Tá sé fíordheachair teacht orthu. Sin ceann de na forálacha atá sa Bhille seo a gcuirim fáilte faoi leith roimhe. Is é sin go mbeidh sé i bhfad Éireann níos fearr teacht ar an eolas seo.

The Senators proposing the Bill alluded to Michael Davitt in their opening comments. I think Michael Davitt would be appalled if he was still alive to see the situation around housing and homelessness in our country, and I am sure the Minister would agree with me on that. I broadly welcome this Bill. Section 3, providing for the availability of a register of derelict properties, is particularly timely. In my area of Galway there are currently officially 15 vacant or derelict sites but I had to find that out by looking it up on a local media site. If I want official council figures I have to turn up in person and review the maps in the council building itself. The need for transparency is obvious.

Housing and homelessness is an issue that affects everybody. This week we saw the effect that figures can have on the public perception of the crisis in the health system. They also tends to dictate the form and speed of the Government’s reaction. I am sure that if there was an accessible and standardised form of these figures that the public’s attention would remain focused on what has been staring us in the face every day, before we even begin talking about new builds and acquiring new land.

The site of the former Irish Glass factory has been lying idle for well over a decade. In that time we have gone from boom to bust and back to where we are now. The recent sale of land at RTE was another missed opportunity to provide for social housing. Many people found out that there was land lying derelict for the first time when they heard about the sale after the fact.

Galway currently has 15 registered derelict sites. These include the former Corrib Great Southern Hotel as well as properties in Ballybrit, Newcastle, St. Helen’s Street, Ballybane and Dominick Street. In light of the housing crisis, it is vital that these sites are considered for upgrade or for alternative use as soon as possible. In the 2017 draft annual budget, Galway City Council allocated more than €25,000 for derelict sites, yet this seems to be mostly covering securing the properties against vandalism and anti-social behaviour. Indeed, about a year ago at election time, I was around the old Connaught Laundry site, and some of the people living in the area adjacent to that site are suffering from the awful affliction of antisocial behaviour due to the fact the site is derelict and is being abused.

Section 4 is essentially revisiting an amendment that was tabled to the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016, which passed through here before Christmas. It is supported by Focus Ireland and many other advocacy groups. It was rejected by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in a vote in this House. They now have another opportunity to reflect on the gravity of the crisis, even after the launch of the Government’s rental strategy, and decide whether they are now in favour of protecting tenants from arbitrary eviction or not. If they do not, at least the public will begin to see a pattern as to which side Fianna Fáil is really on. The blue button brigade or the abstainers will have to show their true colours here this evening.

While there may be advice from the Attorney General, of which the Minister gave some description on Committee Stage of the previous legislation, we have not seen it. I welcome Senator Coffey giving us a certain insight into what he was told was the position when he was a Minister of State. The Attorney General is not always right, however. The question then is whether we believe it is the right thing to do. I think Senator Coffey alluded to the fact that he felt this was the right and moral thing to do but the advice was pointing in a different direction.If it is, let us do it and see if a landlord takes a case. We can then test whether it is unconstitutional. If it is proven to be unconstitutional, we can consider changing the Constitution. Otherwise, we could ask the President, in whom I have faith, to consult with the Council of State. He could then refer any legislation passed by these Houses to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality before it is enacted. That loophole could be tied off as well and it would keep everybody happy because there seems to be a general consensus that the thrust of the legislation is good and that the proposers are open to amendments on Committee Stage and are willing to debate issues. There are ideas coming from the floor of this House that could be brought forward in order that we could come up with legislation that would deal with the issues at hand.

It is the right thing to do because the majority of families that will spend yet more time in emergency accommodation were made homeless by landlords who owned one property or two properties. It is welcome that some tenants who live in the properties of landlords who own ten or more properties will get additional protection, but the majority of families at risk of homelessness will get no more protection from the measures introduced by the Government before Christmas. For that reason, this is one of the most important measures that could be introduced in the Bill or via possible Government amendments. Let us not forget that many of the landlords in question bought their properties with buy-to-let mortgages from banks or availed of section 23 tax reliefs. On that basis alone, they should not be allowed to serve notice to quit on the grounds of sale. The landlord should sell the property with the tenant in situ, which is the purpose of the proposal, namely, to ensure the property remains in the rental stock.

The Bill seeks to amend the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015 by bringing the vacant site levy into effect earlier than 2019, as per current Government plans. It also seeks to increase the vacant site levy from 3% to 5% and to remove the minimum size restriction that is currently set at 500 sq. m. Sinn Féin is firmly of the view that local authorities must have the first option to build housing developments on formerly vacant sites. The 3% annual levy which is due to kick in in 2019 should include measures to exclude land held by local authorities. There should also be provisions to include a higher band of 5% for land of a greater size than one acre. If site owners remain reluctant to comply, the levy should be increased annually for sites which remain idle in areas of high need.

Other measures we have argued for and which are relevant to this debate include providing for the hand-over of vacant sites to local authorities, which have been established to have no market value, the provision for use of levy receipts to be used by local authorities with an annual review by the Minister in conjunction with the Oireachtas committee on the environment and the re-introduction of the windfall tax at 40% on all zoned development land. The political reality is that Fianna Fáil holds the cards and, as has been said in these Houses previously, it is the party of auctioneers and developers. I have a certain sympathy for Senator Murnane O'Connor. I take on board what she said as I believe she is genuinely in favour of the thrust of the Bill. However, it is very disappointing that the rest of her party is not backing her on the measures and it is not allowing the legislation to go to Committee Stage where we can thrash it out fully and come up with solutions.