Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister very much for his presentation. I join him in thanking all those on the front line in this particular sphere of housing and local government who have done so much since March of last year to assist those most in need during this crisis, particularly those dealing with homeless people. I also join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in praising Senator Ruane for the work she has done in her capacity. I commend the people who volunteered for the Community Call initiative, which was vital in providing home supports. The volunteers of this country deserve great praise, as do all our public servants and those in our local authorities who are keeping essential services going. I know they are not at home watching Netflix but are doing a damn good job supporting us and everyone else in the provision of public services.

When this Government came into office, a mammoth task faced us in the area of housing and, of course, that was only exacerbated by the onset of the pandemic. I have seen up close, however, the hands-on approach the Minister has taken in the Department. I worked with him in the previous Dáil. He has hit the ground running, meeting every chief executive officer of every local authority in the last couple of months and resourcing them to do the job we expect of them and know they can do. Perhaps, however, they have not been empowered to do so over the past decade and maybe have fallen out of sync with what they used to do so well. That has changed now. Equally, it is right to call out that some counties were not performing to the levels we expected of them in terms of the delivery of homes. This is a new ball game, however. I mention even the simple act of the €40 million and bringing voids back in, as outlined by the Minister in the July stimulus.

I spent a long number of years in a local authority and something that galled me every year was the number of voids that were on the books. The fact is that some 3,500 were brought back into play before Christmas. That is 3,500 families with a roof over their heads because we brought not new but existing stock, which was on the books of country councils, back into public supply and provided homes.

The delivery of homes is a collaborative effort. Government approved housing bodies, councils and building firms are poised to deliver the homes where they are needed. Looking at the development plan process across a number of counties, we can see that there is an appetite for delivering what is required. My county council is meeting today on working with the National Transport Authority on the issue of the Navan rail line. Providing homes where they are needed and where there are facilities and jobs is key, not in the middle of nowhere, like we had before, but in the correct places. I believe the processes under way will help do that.

I welcome the affordable housing Bill as a game-changer in providing equity to get people on the housing ladder, not in their 40s but in their 20s. When I was able to buy my first home 16 years ago, I was in my 20s. That is the age people should be aspiring to get on the housing ladder. Over the past 20 years, we have seen that number rise into people’s late 30s and 40s. It is not acceptable. I believe this Bill will be a game-changer in that respect and make homeownership an attainable goal for people. Some parties believe homeownership is a dirty word; it is not. We believe in homeownership and in making sure people have that attainable goal of owning their own homes.

I have a couple of questions.In respect of councils, what is the anticipated impact of the construction lockdown on their indicative targets? I note that the Minister stated in his speech that he was working on the matter. As for the land banks on the councils' books that were acquired through the land aggregation, LAG, scheme, many were not in desirable areas. What are the councils doing to work through that?

Finally, the pandemic has had a huge impact on town centres, about which I feel passionate. Many town centres were under pressure pre-pandemic because of a change in shopping patterns caused by online sales. The plight of town centres has only been exacerbated because of pandemic because an increasing number of people are buying online, including people who never used online services before, such as elderly people. It is incumbent on local government to help town cores. I suggest that we fund councils to not just have schemes that improve streetscapes but to make town centres attractive, thus encouraging people back to shop in them. Last December, when restrictions were lifted people were only too anxious to get back into town cores for social interaction. The public realm offers people something different that an online shopping experience cannot. We need to make sure that councils are to the fore in promoting town cores and centres as places to visit and do business, to trade and to buy. I ask that plans are put in place now ahead of restrictions lifting.