Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I am not going to take too much time but will make a few key points. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning, and Local Government and, as such, I have had many opportunities to engage with the Minister of State and officials from his Department. I again express my appreciation and thanks for their work. The housing committee is very constructive, across all parties and none, and works exceptionally well. This morning we teased out some of the issues on approved housing bodies, AHBs. I acknowledge that and thank the Department and its officials who work with us proactively, openly and transparently.

I acknowledge that Rebuilding Ireland is the Government's housing plan, whether I like it or not. It consists of five pillars and 168 actions, some of which I will highlight because I want to stay focused on what is there. This is the Government's policy in relation to Rebuilding Ireland. I will flag some concerns that the Minister of State might take on board, though I do not expect him to respond to me here today. In the first chapter of Rebuilding Ireland, Tusla is mentioned six or eight times. We discuss Tusla a lot, but I want to talk about it in relation to housing. The document refers to a renewed focus on young people leaving State care and potentially becoming homeless. All the experts and professionals in this field tell us that this cohort of people, whether they are coming out of hospitals, centres, or residential care, and whether young or not so young, are at a higher risk of becoming homeless than others. Catering for this cohort is an objective in Rebuilding Ireland, but I ask the Minister of State to refocus on it.

I acknowledge the success of the HAP place finder services. There are not enough of them, which shows that they are working. Everywhere I go, I hear people talking about HAP placement finders, which are there to support people and take them through the process. I have concerns about HAP, as do many others here. However, this is about getting homes for people, and the feedback tells us that HAP place finders are working, so I ask that their funding be increased.

I ask the Minister of State to indicate when the social output for quarter 2 will be published. I understand that it is currently being compiled.

I refer to the land aggregation scheme, which is one of the greatest housing scandals we have had. Thirty-six sites out of a block were identified and purchased by local authorities at exorbitant prices. They were encouraged by the Department to submit those sites to the scheme, and the Department, prior to the Minister of State's time, rejected many of them. Local authorities are now paying interest only on very valuable sites, some of which, due to our legacy of bad planning, are not serviced sites. There is no possibility of them being developed in the short term. We need to look at which ones we can prioritise and which ones can be used.

There are more than 500 AHBs, which is crazy. We need to look at that issue, but we also need to look closely at the gaps between AHBs and local authorities. People say AHBs are outperforming local authorities, but I do not buy into that. I and the Minster of State both know why the AHBs are exceeding their targets. It is because they have a capacity to raise finances that some local authorities do not. Local authorities are also frustrated by the four-stage process. I am reminded of the Shanganagh Castle site. I ask the Minister of State to share some information on that and explain why, after all these years, a substantial site with the potential of 500 to 700 residential units is sitting barren, empty, and abandoned in Shankill, south County Dublin. We need answers. Why is a site this size, which is zoned, suitable for housing, and on a DART line, sitting empty during a housing crisis, while 5,000 people wait on that local authority's housing lists? That is important.

I am not going to talk about the Land Development Agency because the relevant legislation is coming down the track. However, I ask the Minister of State to touch on the issue of the site of the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, which I am advised has a capacity for 1,600 residential units. I am aware that the Land Development Agency will be doing something with it, but we do not have to wait until the site is vacated to work up a master plan, which could be put together well in advance. I would like the Minister of State to tell me today that we will have a master plan on that by the end of this year.

I will touch on a few final issues. I refer to the town and village renewal scheme. A number of councillors recently brought me to the Minister of State's constituency. I am not picking him out because he is from Meath, but I was appalled by the dereliction in Kells. I walked through it last Saturday and could not believe the number of houses that were boarded up and falling down all over Kells, Trim, and Navan, including boarded-up shops. Why are people not living above those shops? Why have terraces of houses been abandoned? We have the same problems in Kilcullen, Athy, and Ennistymon in County Clare, and we need to focus on them.

When will we have a national affordable housing scheme strategy? No such strategy exists as I speak here today. When will we have a national cost rental policy, which we do not have either? Let us get down to some brass tacks here, because we really need to deal with these policies.

I refer to Part V. The time has come for the Government to back the immediate reintroduction of the ten-ten policy, that is, ten social houses for every ten affordable houses. We should not apologise and should put it up to the Government here today that future planning should go back to the old Part V. I would like to hear the Minister of State's views on that.