James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:

noting: - the excellent progress to date under the Rebuilding Ireland Plan;

- that Ireland’s over-65 population increases by 20,000 every year and there are currently 638,000 people over the age of 65, and by 2040, we will have 1.3 million over the age of 65; calls on the Government and the relevant Departments of Housing, Health and others to bring forward a comprehensive plan and policy guidelines:- to offer options, including new capital funding models (private or public or both in collaboration), to encourage and facilitate the real effective delivery of bespoke housing options for the elderly (now defined as over 55);

- to establish a specific fund, possibly administered by the soon to be established bank, ‘Home Building Finance Ireland’, to provide funding to individual community co-op type companies, not-for-profit, cost-based elderly housing projects drawing from competitive sources such as the European Investment Bank which lends at 1%- 2% rates for community-based housing projects;

- to cover the full spectrum of needs from independent living, to low dependency and high dependency clients needing bespoke housing designed to their needs in appropriate locations close to local services if possible;

- to consider altering National Planning Regulations to bring in a specific designated zoning for reserved sites and flexible policy wording , in all county development plans for elderly housing (e.g. similar to specific zoning for reserved school sites);

- to collaborate formally with the service providers, Department of Health, HSE and others to provide the relevant services to the clients and, as appropriate, to keep over 55s and older, in their local communities and in independent living for as long as possible ;

- to review the tax regulations and alter them to encourage and enable persons living in large homes inappropriate for their current needs to downsize to bespoke housing for the elderly, by , for example , exempting bespoke housing for the elderly, both public and private from property tax charges, and examine the suite of current capital and other taxes to see if an incentive can be designed to encourage downsizing; the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland claim that in 2016 there were 900,000 homes that were not occupied as family homes;

- to ensure that private bespoke elderly housing would receive the same exemption from local authority construction planning levies, as long as the housing units, not-for-profit, are set aside in perpetuity as elderly housing;

- to consider the housing co-op model as a vehicle to deliver elderly housing for communities , particularly groups of persons who want to combine their resources to downsize from larger private homes; and that these policy proposals would address the demand for all elderly housing , including social clients now provided for by county councils and approved housing bodies (for example Fold, Alone, Sue Ryder to name a few) along with the larger cohort of private demand for persons who, for example, may wish to sell their existing large home and buy or rent long -term at affordable rates a bespoke elderly housing unit , so that elderly persons can find safe, secure, independent housing options in their local communities in clusters or in individual estates and continue to be active in their communities, avoiding the scourge of loneliness associated with inappropriate housing , particularly in isolated locations.

I dtús báire, ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit, An Teachta English. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for being present for the motion.

This issue has been around for quite some time. In 2014, I remember discussing the matter with the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, to try to introduce some incentives for people who would like to move home as the houses in which they have spent their adult lives rearing children are far too large for their needs because their families have left. Many of them need some help because they are not wealthy. They are often asset rich - although many people would argue that an asset is something that earns one an income and that, therefore, a home does not qualify - but they are cash poor. The issue has become more and more prevalent, and the problem is that not only do these people wish to downsize and find it difficult to afford to do so, but there is also a lack of availability.

The motion attempts to address many of the issues raised as a consequence of this situation in which many people find themselves. Some people would like to be in a position to help their children get on the property ladder or help their children who may be in negative equity and in trouble with their mortgage. Many of the people to whom I have spoken find it difficult to maintain their large, old houses, which are often cold and were built long before we had building energy ratings. One hears disturbing stories of older people living only in one room because they cannot afford to heat the rest of the house. We need to address the issue in a holistic fashion across Government and ensure smaller units are available for older people who would like to downsize. These matters are addressed by the motion.

The second recommendation of the report done by Deputy Bailey and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government speaks to the need for mechanisms to be developed to incentivise and promote the construction of housing options and residential care facilities located in town centres or central locations within easy reach of local services. This is critical. Many older people want to stay in the communities in which they have been living and do not want to move far away. They become less mobile and may prefer to drive less and instead walk to most facilities such as shops or cafes. That is better for the environment and the person because it is a healthier lifestyle.

On the substance of the motion, the first suggestion is for a co-operative model for pensioners who can sell their homes and downsize to elderly housing. There are currently approved housing bodies, which do not have to pay any building levy, but I would like the Government to examine affording the same right to a co-op that would take this approach. As I have said to the Minister of State, this problem has existed for some time. I have a document from a meeting held in Skerries last week relating to a group of 50 people who want to help themselves, together and independent. Given that the group was set up more than 30 years ago to address the issue, the problem clearly did not arise last year or ten years ago but rather quite some time ago. We need to give such people help to help themselves, as Fine Gael Governments have been in favour of doing over the years.

A critical part of the suggestion is the need to have available affordable housing to which people can downsize. We recommend the establishment of a central building fund offering interest rates of between 1% and 2% to build the houses that can be subsequently sold or rented to people by lease. The money would be automatically remitted to the fund and would be available for future projects. If we get rid of the housing levy for houses built under the co-operative model, as I propose, it would save €10,000 per home on average. Furthermore, there should not be any property tax on these homes and there should be an exemption for elderly housing co-op dwellings. A part of the deal would be that on the demise of the individual or if he or she wanted to move home, the home would have to be sold back to the co-op for future use again. The stock would not diminish, therefore, but would continue to increase. The residents could share in any increase in the home's value but they would ultimately have to sell it back to the co-op. It would be critical to reserve sites in the centre of towns. As the Minister of State will know, in most local area action plans, sites are reserved for schools. Why, then, could sites not be reserved for housing of this type for older people?

We would also like the Government to examine the issue of inheritance tax and gift tax, purely in the context of money given to a child to get on the housing ladder or those who might be in negative equity and in danger of losing their houses. Some 638,000 people are above the age of 65 in the country and that figure is expected to grow by 20,000 per year. As a result, the issue will not go away but rather will become more acute. The benefit to older persons is that this would offer them an option and incentives without placing an onus on them, while the benefit to broader society is that there will be communal arrangements, such as a common room where a public health nurse could hold a clinic once a week, providing passive surveillance of older people. They will all know each other and feel safe within the enclave. They will know if Johnny or Mary has not been out for days and if that is unusual, they can alert someone.

An interesting statistic from the Central Statistics Office is that 900,000 homes which are designated as family homes do not have a family living in them. This is a real, widespread issue and the potential benefits of addressing it are considerable. I know that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Damien English and Jim Daly, are doing much work and are interested in a whole raft of potential measures. As the Government has welcomed suggestions, this is our way in the Seanad of making suggestions that have serious merit. From my experience as a doctor, I know there is much research that shows that what predicts good mental health in older age is not so much being surrounded by family but rather having a strong social circle of friends.I will give a real-life example. Michael Caine spoke publicly about how he bought his mother a brand new house, rather than the little place she was living in and she had to move to the other side of London. After a year and a half she moved back because she was miserable; she missed all her old friends and all the places she was used to going to. It is real. We need to make sure the option is there for older people by ensuring these two-bedroom units are available. They could be up to 1,000 sq. ft. We acknowledge that older people may still want their family and grandchildren to come to stay so the units need to be built to a standard. The report I alluded to earlier talks about a uniform build where the specifications reflect the demographic living in it such as the age of the person, so plug sockets are higher up, cooking ovens and hobs are at the right height and there are no door saddles, to mention just a few. The units would, of course, be built to the highest of standards of building energy ratings. The environment wins again, but so too does the person who is living in the house since their energy bills will be negligible and they will have more disposable income. I hope the Minister of State will take all of this on board and that he will have some positive things to say about it.

I will conclude by saying I have always believed an overriding principle when it comes to any policy, that we should make the right thing the easy thing to do. I do not believe that currently the right thing is the easy thing to do for many people who find themselves in these situations. To further emphasise the demand for this proposal, I was walking into my surgery this morning when I was met by two constituents who were interested in this type of measure. On explaining it to them they were very positively disposed towards it. This may not be for everybody. Many people are very happy to stay where they are in their homes and we encourage that. It will, however, suit a lot of people. It will also allow a substantial minority of people, who might otherwise go from where they currently are straight to a nursing home, to remain independent for a much longer period. This would be to their benefit and to the benefit of the State.