Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to do it in three minutes. I welcome the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to the House. This is an extremely important debate. To put my contribution in context, I will speak on the area I know best, Limerick. There is an issue with the provision of housing in Limerick city. There is a perception that Limerick has a very large stock of social housing. Many of the older estates are now privately owned, so local authority houses are not that abundant. I very much welcome the Minister's announcement of various building projects, such as that in Edward Street. We have had building projects in Southhill, Moyross and apartments are being renovated in Careys Road, which are all positive. We will have further building projects in the pipeline.

The key point I wish to focus on is Georgian Limerick. Inner city Limerick dates from the Georgian period and the houses in the inner city are Georgian. The Department of Finance introduced the living city initiative a number of years ago. It is a very worthwhile scheme, but we need to look at ways to encourage people to live in the city centre across a range of areas. The cost of renovating Georgian houses is much greater than the cost of a new build. I put the proposal to the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, that funding would be ring fenced particularly under the living initiative scheme for Georgian houses. I want to see provisions for owner occupiers, for the renovation of small mews in the old lanes that Frank McCourt would have spoken about, so that we can bring new families and younger people back into them. Second, we need investors to create much needed accommodation. There is a scheme run by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, whereby the local authority can work with owners of properties to renovate them and put leases in place for a ten year period to provide much needed housing. Any solution in terms of housing in Limerick city centre has to involve the Georgian quarter. We can serve a dual purpose, preserving buildings and also bringing people back to live in the city centre. I feel strongly about that issue.

There is no substitute for building houses. I very much welcome that house building is now the policy priority of Government and of the Minister, Deputy Murphy's Department. People are under pressure paying rent. I know a solution will not happen overnight, but the intention to build traditional local authority housing is very welcome. The challenge will be to ensure that we will deal with the homeless, which I know is a high priority for the Minister. He will ensure that the building programme continues in the city of Limerick, which I represent, and also ensure that by rejuvenating the Georgian inner city, much needed housing accommodation will be provided in the city that will encourage people to live in the city centre.