Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his report. It is no secret that we are in the worst of times. Chaos and uncertainty loom next month because of Brexit, members of the health sector are taking to the streets and people are dying in our towns and cities. Last week, another homeless man was found dead in a derelict building in my county. My heart breaks for his family, to whom I send my deepest condolences, and I am sorry for the families we have let down over and over again. We ought to hang our heads in shame that we stand here while thousands live in fear of another day in homelessness. While we are all working hard, there need to be more resources and commitment because something must be done.

Fine Gael has overseen a crisis of unprecedented numbers of people without homes, rents surging to historic heights, home-building numbers tens of thousands behind where they need to be, and 130,000 people in need of a permanent social home. All the while, another significant problem is emerging, namely, the Government has completely ignored the ordinary worker who cannot afford a place to own. Fianna Fáil has made significant progress in budget 2019 but the key is delivery. Since coming into power, Fine Gael has launched Construction 2020, Social Housing Strategy 2020, the Rebuilding Ireland action plan of 2016 and capital plans in 2012, 2015 and 2018. These separate plans exclude the numerous relaunches involved, which is more launches than homes built by local authorities in certain areas. I raise the issue because I have previously raised it with the Minister. The year is 2019, and we need to ensure that Rebuilding Ireland works, through its five pillars on which we all have worked so hard. We do not need any more launches of plans; we need to ensure we get delivery. People are sick and tired of promises because promises are broken, patched up, reworded, and broken again.

Last week, a woman visiting my clinic told me Irish Water wrote to her asking why she was using many gallons more water than a household of its size should. She replied that five adults in their 30s are back living at home with her because they have no other option as rents in Carlow cost almost €1,000 a month. She also has two grandchildren living with her and the house is very crowded. Her children are on the housing list but have been overlooked time and again and they cannot afford to get their own mortgage because house prices have risen to unaffordable levels. Figures given to us at one of our recent housing meetings suggested that the average rent in Carlow was €750 a month but it is actually €1,000 a month. The figures that are being given to the Department are so far off the mark that they are causing serious issues for people who are trying to rent a property. In December, I called for a timeline on a review of social housing income thresholds, but I have yet to receive any correspondence on the issue. We are unwittingly excluding people who should genuinely qualify for social housing.

A family recently came to me for help. They were bringing home between €350 and €400 per week but did not qualify to be registered on Carlow County Council's housing list as they were earning over the income threshold, which is one of the lowest in the country at €27,500. Our neighbouring counties' thresholds are between €32,500 and €34,000, which is unacceptable. It is unacceptable that people who work to try to make ends meet are told they do not qualify for the housing waiting lists. I have raised the issue consistently and been told it was being examined, but people in Carlow and, I am sure, other counties with low caps are caught in limbo because they do not qualify under the social housing income threshold but do not earn enough to afford a mortgage. They need answers as much as I do. Seven years have passed since the last review of the cap to qualify for local authority housing lists, which is unacceptable. I understand that a new assessment was due last summer, and there is an urgent need to finalise the review and increase the income eligibility limits for social housing in Carlow and most likely in other counties. It is extraordinary that in the midst of a housing crisis, the Government is denying accessing rent allowance and the housing assistance payment from many families who are under intense financial pressure.

I do not mean to repeat myself but we are in an emergency. We need to consider the levels of unsustainable rents, people not qualifying for the local authority housing lists and people being unable to get a mortgage. The Minister spoke about mortgages, and I acknowledge there has been an increase in the threshold for mortgages, but it remains hard to qualify and the matter needs to be re-examined. Even if one is a first-time buyer, one must have enough savings for a 10% deposit. Many people who come to my clinics do not qualify to go on the local authority list and, therefore, they pay €1,000 a month in rent and cannot save. They fall between the social housing income threshold and earning enough to afford a mortgage. They are the hidden figures that are not accounted for. We need to seriously examine the matter.

Homelessness figures remain far too high and thousands of children are being scarred by the experience. The dispute over the exact number misses the point of the unacceptable scale of the problem. The Temple Street Hospital figures underline the scale and horror of the problem, but that is just one example. Many of the Department's figures, such as those for housing, homelessness or the number of people not qualifying for the housing lists, are utterly wrong.

Fianna Fáil has shown it is committed to finding meaningful solutions to our role in the confidence and supply agreement, and has not shirked leading criticism of the Government where it is at fault. Homeownership is slipping away from an entire generation as housing prices rise by 13% per annum, whereas wages rise by only 2.5%. The rate of homeownership, at 68%, is at the lowest since 1971, while some households are one pay cheque away from living on the street, which we must admit. Some households have lost homes, family members, marriages or children through the crisis but I do not believe the Minister does not understand what is happening, in particular to families crying out for help. Only €20 million was allocated to the affordable housing scheme in 2018, with no units delivered or regulations even signed off on. We produced a revamped scheme worth more than €100 million per annum over the next three years, which will deliver approximately 7,500 units at an average price of €200,000 for ordinary-income workers. There are too many workers who need to be able to access the market. They need an end in sight for all their hard work and we cannot be seen to help only the helpless.We need to help those who can help themselves but need access to affordable homes to do so. Affordable housing is a key aim of Fianna Fáil in the budget for 2019. We actively support home ownership and aim to launch an ambitious new scheme that will provide proper homes on State-owned land throughout the country. The investment in a new €100 million per annum affordable housing fund will construct at least 6,000 homes by 2021. It will quadruple the original allocated money per year from €25 million. This is contrary to claims by Sinn Féin, which has made a mistake in its figures and has counted the same money four times over.