Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad that Senator Coffey mentioned ideology because there is an ideological problem at the heart of the Government. In the worst of times in this country we built public housing, through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. I do not often compliment Fianna Fáil but it was largely responsible for that public housing. Fine Gael has never been comfortable with the idea of providing homes for the people. The ideological problem at the heart of this action plan is that it hopes the market will ultimately solve the problem. I was very struck a few weeks ago when the Taoiseach said in the Dáil that there are 8,000 houses being built and mentioned chippies and brickies. However, later, on "Drivetime", Ronan Burtenshaw, a housing analyst, pointed out that only 1,800 houses actually are being built and the rest are in planning. That shows the gap between the reality of housing under this Government and its grand promises and plans.

This report is another indictment of the Government's inaction on key measures that it highlighted as solutions to the deepest housing crisis since the foundation of the State. It is a scandal that 198,000 homes lie vacant across the State. The Department's latest figures show a record number of people are dependent on emergency accommodation. The Dublin Regional Homeless Executive published figures recently which showed that 60% of homeless families in Dublin have been in emergency accommodation for more than six months; 40% of families have been in hotels, bed and breakfasts or hostels for more than one year and over 138 families have spent more than 18 months in emergency accommodation. The sad truth is that some of the 2,500 homeless children have spent more of their lives in emergency accommodation than in a stable home.This comes from a Government that prioritised tax cuts for the wealthy in the previous budget rather than putting adequate resources into tackling the homelessness crisis.

Many of these families live in inappropriate, unsuitable and insecure accommodation. We have heard stories of families being forced to stay in damp rooms with blood-stained sheets, mice and cockroaches. There is an obvious solution to this problem. In Dublin alone, there are 40,000 empty homes, that is, almost 40 houses for every homeless family. The various schemes announced by the Government to target vacant homes are simply not enough. The three schemes currently in place will only deliver around 6,400 homes over six years, which is only 3% of the total vacant housing stock. Similarly, of the 1,100 on offer to Government by various banks, the Government has only committed to purchasing 200 of these. We recently learned of the allocation of a paltry additional €26 million that will bring only 0.4% of the vacant properties throughout the State back into use. Those are the facts beyond the promises of this Government.

The repair and leasing scheme is a good initiative and Sinn Féin has supported it from the beginning. My only criticism is that since the pilot seems to be working well in Waterford and Carlow, as Senator Coffey acknowledged, I cannot understand why the Minister is not more ambitious for the roll-out of the scheme.

There are more than 198,000 vacant properties throughout the State. In my own area of Limerick city there are 2,564 vacant units and the figure is 5,889 in Limerick county. This is more than enough homes to take people out of emergency accommodation and off waiting lists. Targeting only 800 vacant properties and providing only €26 million in additional funding demonstrates how this Fine Gael-led Government has not got its spending priorities right. Having an ambitious plan in place that can facilitate the quick turnaround of the maximum number of vacant properties is an obvious solution to the housing supply crisis in this State. The Minister says funding is not an issue. Therefore, he must demonstrate a clear sense of urgency regarding the State-wide roll-out of this scheme and adjust his target beyond an inadequate 800 homes.

Instead of taking responsibility for the housing crisis that his party has perpetuated, the Minister continues to hide behind statistics. If funding is not a problem, there is no reason the Government cannot ramp up its acquisitions target for vacant homes. If the Government is serious about tackling the housing and homelessness crisis, it needs to consider seriously some of the recommendations made by both the Simon Community last week and the Peter McVerry Trust today on returning vacant homes to use.

Sinn Féin is not here merely to criticise the Government’s inaction. In this House we put forward the Rent Certainty Bill, which was a genuine effort to provide solutions that would at least start to ease the pain and suffering that is homelessness and the threat of homelessness. This Bill sought to link rent increases to the consumer price index. In simple terms, this means that rents should not increase by more than the cost of living. While there was criticism from some quarters that the consumer price index was not the best indicator, no viable alternatives were offered.

I want to stress that this is not a panacea. Our private rental sector is deeply flawed and it will require multiple pieces of legislation as well as action by all stakeholders to reform it into a model that is sustainable. Rents in Limerick increased by 13.2% last year, which was even more than the increases in Dublin. However, if the Minister of State looks at the model in a city like Vienna, for example, he will find one third of houses are private, one third are public and one third are owned by housing co-operatives. That is the type of ideological model that works, as we see across western Europe. Unfortunately, however, it is one the Minister of State's party will never embrace. Indeed, the figures for co-operative housing units in Ireland are among the lowest in western Europe. Again, I do not see the action plans to address that issue.

I am interested in Senator Coffey's comments. I recall that when a housing co-operative wanted to establish units in Limerick, Fine Gael councillors came out in droves to oppose it, along with their Fianna Fáil colleagues, I am afraid to say. We can quote many examples. The problem is that the ideological heart of the Government is right-wing. It believes in market solutions and, unfortunately, the market has failed and continues to fail. Supply will remain a constant problem as long as not enough units are being built, as long are there is a large number of tenants in private rental accommodation who should be elsewhere and as long as a huge number of vacant units remain. We need more progress, more ambition and fewer reports.