Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Seanad Éireann for the opportunity to update it on Rebuilding Ireland, the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. Today is a good opportunity to debate progress and to outline some future areas of priority action.

Rebuilding Ireland is a comprehensive delivery plan, which has been augmented and updated since its publication in mid-2016. It is not a quick fix; rather, it is a five-year plan, of which year two is close to expiry. The housing system was devastated during the downturn, with output falling by 90%. Last week, I made the point in the Dáil that people often forget what this Government inherited on taking up office in respect of housing. Rebuilding Ireland is about fixing the housing crisis at different levels and for people on different levels of income, be that in regard to social, affordable or private housing units. It also puts in place a sustainable housing construction sector. To address the decrease in housing output from 90,000 per year to 6,000 per year requires a steady supply of housing throughout the system. This gives people confidence that there will be housing available to them in whatever part of the country they wish to live. We also have to provide housing for an expected additional 1 million people coming to live here. People wanting to set up in the construction sector or existing businesses in this area that want to expand need to know there is a sustainable construction sector in place. The issue of skills shortages is regularly discussed. If construction sector workers cannot be confident that what happened in the past will not happen again, the result will be a loss of skills in this area. Rebuilding Ireland seeks to provide that confidence, which is often missed in many of debates.

There is no quick fix to a 90% decrease in housing output and a 300,000 decrease in the number employed in the sector. Dealing with this requires a series of targeted actions across the complex and interrelated parts of the housing system. To date, we have put in place a significant series of targeted responses that are designed to stabilise and provide the emergency response to homelessness; develop a major social housing programme; rebuild the house building industry and ensure there is a steady supply of affordable homes; reform and modernise the rental sector; and maximise the potential from vacant homes.The issue of vacant homes is the subject of frequent discussion. I remind Members that the past three or four censuses indicate that there have been vacant homes in this country for many years. It is not a new phenomenon. We want to address it once and for all by establishing a system to deal with vacant homes on an ongoing basis.

I refer to the issue of developing a major social housing programme. During Dáil debates on the issue I often ask Members to be a little more honest and admit that we have started a social housing programme funded by approximately €6 billion of taxpayers' money rather than repeat that there is no social housing programme. I have no problem with people arguing that there should be more or less social housing, but they should acknowledge what has been started because taxpayers' money has been committed to it. Some €6 billion has been spent on it over the past couple of years through NGOs, local authorities and the Government. It cannot be denied that there is a social housing programme. It is a fact, but people still say there is no social housing programme. I have no problem with Members arguing that we are not doing enough and should do more because there is no doubt that we are not doing enough to solve the problem while thousands of people are still waiting for a home. I have no problem with Members being critical in that regard but they must acknowledge that taxpayers' money is being spent on housing and a social housing programme.

We are doing everything possible to provide ongoing support for our most vulnerable citizens while managing long-term programmes to create a sustainable pathway to a stable and consistent housing system. Most reasonable people recognise that the thousands of houses that are needed cannot be delivered in a couple of months or years and that it takes some time to put the system in place. However, while that is being done, one must provide accommodation for people in the best way one can, which may be through the housing assistance payment, HAP, system or family hubs. Ideally, such accommodation would be a house and a home but in some cases we must use emergency accommodation. We would rather we did not have to do so but in some cases it is necessary, which is when family hubs and hotels are used. Naturally, we would far prefer for people to have a permanent home in which to raise their family.

The Government commitment to this issue is clear. Next year we will invest more in housing than any previous Government has in a single year. Over €2.4 billion of taxpayers' money will be spent on the housing programme, which will deliver many new homes for families who are currently experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. The Government will oversee the building of tens of thousands of new homes. Building on the 20,000 homes that will be delivered this year, 25,000 new homes will be delivered next year throughout the country. Importantly, in the context of Rebuilding Ireland and the multi-annual response to housing, €6.6 billion will have been provided over four years to the end of 2019. That funding reflects our ongoing determination and commitment to deal comprehensively with the housing challenge. It will take time as well as money, but we are making progress.

It is not just about money. One must choose appropriate sites, obtain planning permission, go through all the procedures, put the housing in the right place and get the right mix and so on. When people tell me they want to double the number of houses we plan to build next year and build 20,000 houses, I ask them on what sites they would put those houses and whether they have done their homework on such plans. It is the job of the Department, working with our colleagues in Government and through the local authorities, to plan this out and put a pipeline of projects in place. There is a pipeline of over 1,000 projects which will deliver over 16,000 houses. We want to double that but it is not as simple as stating that we will build 20,000 houses next year. It does not work that way. One must make it happen on the ground, which is our job as a Department, working with our officials who are doing great work day and night and very often at weekends, local authorities and other stakeholders such as NGOs and many others who use taxpayers' money to progress their work.

Some 5,000 households have exited homelessness in the past 12 months. That is a fact. I am not trying to convince politicians that our approach is correct. However, those who are currently homeless must be able to believe that the system will eventually catch up and provide them a home. In the past 18 months, over 7,060 adults who were homeless are now in a home. That is steady progress. I accept it is not enough to help the thousands who are still homeless but one must give people hope that the system is catching up. Every day, many people get a house but the difficulty is that many others come looking for a home and it is difficult to get ahead of the demand. A significant number of people have been moved through the system and it is important that that is recognised because those living in a hotel or a family hub must know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. For most such people, there is light and that must also be recognised. We have listened to the very sad stories told by those affected by homelessness. Members encounter such people every week in their clinics. People need to believe that there will eventually be an answer to such problems. This year, over 3,600 households have been assisted under the homeless HAP programme. Over 200 Housing First tenancies have been established. Rough sleeping has been reduced by 40% and hubs have been put in place for 500 families. We are working on these issues day in and day out. We know that more needs to be done and it will be done.

This is a very complex issue with many contributory factors. Adequate supply of affordable homes to rent and buy, particularly in Dublin, is a key factor and forms a key part of our work. Much of the discussion of housing revolves around social housing and council houses but we must also bear in mind that we need housing for all the categories of people with varying abilities to rent or buy or otherwise and that is what we are trying to do. Much of the work in the first two years involved putting a building programme back in place for social housing, fixing that system, changing the processes and rules, getting it up and running and equipping local authorities with the staff and money they needed to be able to deliver social housing and did not have three, four or five years ago. Local authorities now have those resources and are back doing their work. Phase 2 of our work under Rebuilding Ireland is very much aimed at affordable housing and providing homes that people can afford to buy. That will be a key part of our work in the year ahead, as reflected in the budget allocations.

While we work to increase supply, we have a suite of immediate responses available for those people presenting as homeless. In reality, given the supply situation, this means continuing to provide accommodation in the best way we can. As all Members will agree, hotels are not ideal as anything other than a short-term emergency response. That is why the family hub programme is so critical. My Department is continuing to work with the relevant local authorities on the expansion of the hub programme. This will ensure that the short-term emergency accommodation that we provide is far better suited to the needs of families and individuals. Any wrap-around services which are required can also be provided through family hubs. I ask any Member who has not yet done so to visit a family hub and meet the families there. While the families always say they want a more permanent home, they accept that the family hubs are far better than being in a commercial hotel. Although all Members agree family hubs are not ideal, they are a temporary measure. The majority of people who enter a family hub move on to more suitable housing accommodation within six months either through HAP, a social housing programme or in some other way. It is important that that is recognised.

Funding to address homelessness and provide related services this year will rise to €146 million under budget 2019 and an additional €60 million in capital funding is being provided primarily for emergency accommodation, including family hubs. We hope to spend that money this year. Housing First will receive an additional €3 million in wrap-around supports on top of the funding that will support the delivery of single occupancy homes. Some 200 new emergency beds will be provided.

The national Housing First team and programme launched a few weeks ago is built on models that have worked very well in countries such as Finland and Canada. It is a new approach aimed at assisting rough sleepers rather than homeless families. Previously, the system spent a long time trying to work with rough sleepers, provide them with services and then find them a home. We are turning that on its head and are trying to find suitable accommodation for such people at the start and then provide wrap-around services, which will give them a much better chance of being able to make the house a sustainable tenancy. It is working quite well and has produced many good results over the past year. There is very strong commitment to the programme.

The family hub programme will expand to accommodate 950 more places, bringing the total to approximately 1,500 places, allowing us to accommodate families in hubs and not hotels, which is very important in the short term.

Accelerating supply, particularly of social housing, remains a priority. Working with delivery partners, we are achieving significant outcomes. Rebuilding Ireland has delivered over 57,000 housing solutions to the end of quarter 2 of 2018 across all delivery streams. I expect that number to increase to approximately 70,000 by the end of the year. We are working more effectively with local authorities through our regular housing summits. In September, the housing summit approach was extended to the approved housing body sector in light of its role in social housing delivery, tenancy management and the provision of services for the homeless and other vulnerable members of our communities. This strategic and operational partnership approach is working and will continue to deliver. We committed to supporting 137,000 households into appropriate accommodation under build, acquisition and leasing programmes, HAP and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, over a six-year period. By the end of year 3 we will have achieved over 50% of our target. We will deliver another 10,000 new council houses next year. The magic number for many of those involved in campaigns or debates on this issue over the past year and a half is 10,000 houses. That is everyone's ambition. We are making it happen because our job as the Government is to do it, not just talk about it. I am confident that thanks to the funding allocated in the budget 10,000 council houses will be delivered next year.They are a combination of direct builds, acquisitions and some long-term leasing as well. That is permanent social housing, which was not there last year, going into the system. This year, just under 8,000 houses will be delivered before the end of the year. It was 7,000 last year. They are real homes that are helping us to provide homes for people from many different backgrounds who badly need them. That is what we are trying to do.

Others want commitments that go beyond that. I asked those people to show us the plans on where is the spending, how will it be done and so on. What we have committed to over the next ten years in this document, Rebuilding Ireland, but also in Project Ireland 2040, which people have missed, is delivering up to 12,000 social houses per year, every year. By 2030, that will bring us to a grand total of over 110,000 new social houses. I will be honest. I have read through the manifestos and campaigns of everybody else. Nobody is going beyond that or going to that number, even as an aspiration. We have a plan in place with money behind it to bring us to that level. The constant mantra every week that Fine Gael is not really into social housing is just not true.