Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. As Senator Coffey said, this is a very important debate and there is no doubt we will have to revisit it. Some of the points I wish to make are supplementary to points raised by Senator Coffey.

During the summer an expert panel report that identified the existence of pyrite and mica in houses in counties Mayo and Donegal was published. That is not surprising for those affected but it is devastating. The pyrite and mica is in the blockwork of those houses as distinct from the pyrite found in the foundations of some houses in Leinster and has an even more negative impact on the property structure. As the Minister knows, some proposed solutions involve not only stripping the outer leaf of the cavity blockwork of a house but also the inner leaf. That involves taking a house to the ground and rebuilding it, which all Members know is an expensive endeavour. Most of those affected cannot afford to take such action. There is an urgency to this issue because I am aware of at least one house where an engineer advised the roof was in danger of structural collapse and the owner had to use his or her savings to pay for remedial work to be done. That person and his or her engineer worked closely with the expert panel, which resulted in some of the recommendations in the expert panel report. I ask the Minister to outline his commitment to helping the affected people in Mayo and Donegal in a timely fashion. Time is of the essence. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, about making provision in budget 2018 for a remediation scheme? A scheme exists in Leinster on which work is ongoing and fairness requires that the people in counties Mayo and Donegal receive no less assistance from the State. I acknowledge the work that has been done in identifying hopefully permanent engineering solutions.

The housing problem or issue manifests itself differently in big urban centres. The issues in Dublin, in particular, have been outlined. There is a major homelessness problem in my home county of Mayo. Approximately 1,600 people are on the social housing list there according to the most recent figures I have. When one goes to market towns and villages there are very many empty houses and also shops that will never be used as shops again. Those empty premises could be used as part of the housing solution. I welcome the town and village renewal scheme which is operated by the Department of my county colleague, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Ring. There is potential in it and its intention is to enhance our towns and villages and make them more attractive places to live. One should begin by asking why people do not want to live in these houses. I ask Senator Grace O'Sullivan why the people who own such premises are not prepared to become landlords. Some of the answers are clear, such as how onerous it is, especially for the many responsible landlords.

The Minister oversees the repair and lease scheme and the buy and renew scheme. How are they progressing? The Minister may have already mentioned that.

To address the issue of people who do not want to live in certain houses in towns and villages the Minister has to ensure there are services and work with local authorities. However, he is familiar with the proposal I brought to the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party and which was ratified. It is to identify a town core, incentivise it for people living over shops and give grant aid or tax incentives in that regard. Businesses would get a rates break if under a certain size. Small independent businesses should be treated differently to Tesco and other multiples that are usually located out of town and do not add to the town.

In terms of affordability, the cost of planning contributions in County Mayo can add €12,000 to the cost of building a house. A circular was sent to many planning authorities in 2013 by the then Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan, asking for the cost of planning contributions to be reduced in the interest of promoting development. That did not happen in all counties and I ask that it be done.

As Senator Coffey said, there is now an issue of non-permanent contracts. People such as young professionals are consistently employed on temporary contracts. How will they get mortgages and what sort of Government intervention might be required to assist them? They can clearly afford mortgages but the criteria applied by banks require some sort of permanency to people's work that does not exist for many. That will become a more severe problem if things continue as they are.