Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I was not going to contribute on this debate because, to be honest, I did not know what to say. I constantly go around in circles on this topic trying to figure out solutions. I hate to hear other parties and the media claiming that Fine Gael does not have a social conscience and that other parties have the monopoly on concern and care for people who are struggling with the housing crisis. We all know that is not the case. The Government, the larger part of which is Fine Gael, is working tirelessly to improve the situation. That includes the Minister and his predecessor, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney.

I wish to ask a series of questions instead of pontificating about what the Minister should and should not do. I hope he can answer them. If not, perhaps he will send me a letter or email about them later.

Why can we not just instruct councils to build where they have land?If they come back and say that they do not have the staff and that is why they cannot build, why can we as a Government not allow them to recruit? If money is not an issue, why can local authorities not recruit staff who can build on the local authorities' own land? If it is more cost-effective for the local authorities to buy in expertise and contractors, why can we not do that?

Councillors around the country whom I speak to want their local authorities to build houses in their localities. Local authority staff want to build houses but they say they are held back by red tape. Why can we not deal with that?

Some local authorities state that they do not have the resources to build and yet there are local authorities next door to them that have resources. Why can three or four local authorities not come together, pool their resources and build together? It may be more cost-effective.

What is happening to houses that are derelict that have derelict site orders placed on them by councillors? Why are they not subject to CPOs? Why is there not funding invested in those? Some buildings in my area have been the subject of a CPO and they are still sitting there nearly ten years later. Why are they not being dealt with? Are the local authorities being held accountable for those lands?

Recently local authority staff told me that they are inundated with people presenting themselves as homeless at the local authority offices, so much so that they are not at their desks working to house people but are down meeting them coming into the reception area. When they ask the clerk of works for the local authority to go out and inspect houses for people to move into, he cannot do so because he is the only one in the Athlone municipal area. Why can local authorities not employ staff? There is no moratorium on recruiting staff at present.

The previous Minister had an idea, the repair and lease scheme, that I was keen on and that I had made a submission to him on. Why was there such poor uptake of that scheme and what can we do to improve it? These are all questions that have been put to me over the past number of months. I do not know the answers to them and that is why I want the Minister to answer them for me.

Earlier in the year, an article I read stated that Permanent TSB was selling the 14,000 non-performing mortgage loans. Why could the Government not buy these mortgages and keep those people in their homes? What was to stop us doing that if we have the money?

Everybody knows the use of hotels is not suitable for families and it has to stop. Why can that money not be redirected and used to house families? These are all questions that people ask me every day, and I do not know the answers. I feel frustrated that I cannot answer them. They seem sensible, down to earth and simplistic. They are probably too simplistic for the Minister but I would love if he could answer those questions.

I would love if the Government could say to the banks that not one more person is to be made homeless because of a bank that we are stakeholders in and that we as a country bailed out. No bank should ever be allowed to make a person homeless from here on in. It is just not good enough in this day and age.

I ask the Minister to give me answers to those questions. I appreciate all his work. I am aware of the hours he puts into this. I am aware of the concern that the Minister has, like the rest of his Fine Gael colleagues, for those who have housing difficulties. I really appreciate the work the Minister is doing and I thank him.