Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister back to the House. I support this legislation, which together with the Land Development Agency Bill 2021, will provide much-needed social and affordable housing to purchase and rent in this State.

Most modest earners are locked out of the housing market. They do not earn enough such that three and a half times their salary will yield them a mortgage that will buy them a property. However, perversely, they can pay 40% or more of their wages and salaries in rent. This group are living with parents to try and save. In my constituency of Dublin South Central, there are parents with two and three of their adult children and, in some cases, their partners and spouses, living under their roof while they save as much as they can for a deposit. Couples are delaying the start of their families due to the cost of providing housing. They cannot afford it. Affordable rental in the form of long-term tenure in the cost rental dwellings planned and assistance in purchase, either through the shared equity scheme or local authority affordable purchase schemes, are welcome developments. I congratulate the Minister in that regard.

Some in this House do not believe in home ownership. Some believe that rental should be cross-subsidised by further taxing those already priced out of the market, the so-called middle, and others believe that cost rental should include those who have the option to access social housing, even though that would mean diluting the provision for those who will never quality for social housing and cannot buy. I believe in mixed tenure in all developments. It is good for everyone and it brings equality for everyone to share their communities. I hear and echo some of the concerns of communities, such as Drimnagh, that the building proposed in their areas is cost rental or of particularly one tenure. That may lend itself to a transitory population who are not invested in their communities long term.I urge the Minister to ensure that this will not be the case through incentives and regulations. I know he has already considered that. There is a need to ensure that infrastructural provisions are in place.

I refer to the current provision for crèches to be built at a ratio of one crèche for every 75 dwelling units, which is a great idea but, in reality, is not working. A recent application for a development in Crumlin which obtained planning permission exempted itself on the basis of there being adequate provision of crèches in the area just because there were geographically proximate crèches. There is no obligation to assess the length of the waiting lists or the adequacy of provision. That is something that could be tightened up as part of what is a great move and initiative in the two Bills towards a real quality of life and living.

I really want to support the shared equity scheme of the Bill. I was one of those who got a foot on the property ladder as a result of the shared ownership scheme and was very glad to apply for it. I got my loan approval while working in the voluntary sector on what were paltry wages. In the week I got my loan approval, I could have bought a two-bedroom house in Crumlin for the money. As a result of the speed at which house prices were rising at the time, within a fortnight, all I could afford was an apartment off St. James’s Street. I was delighted to have my apartment and it made a fine first home. By the time it came to purchasing a full family home, we were among the Celtic tiger refugees who left Dublin and went to Kildare, which was fine, but we had a round trip of three hours a day. I was fortunate that my family circumstances with my parents permitted the opportunity to combine our two homes so that I could move back to Dublin.

We were lucky. Many have not been so lucky and, as a barrister workingpro bono, I have represented such people. Many had lost their homes and my role was to try to get a stay of execution, in terms of when they were obliged to move out, in order to facilitate a family member doing the leaving certificate, for example. Those people must get a chance to be first-time buyers again and I appeal to the Minister to make sure they are included when he is making provisions in the context of the Bill.

It is reported in today’s papers that young people exiting the care of the State need longer and more secure tenure. I believe that supported sheltered housing projects, once termed foyer projects, have a real role in that care, as well as in care for the homeless. I have been involved in building such projects. I built a project with 55 independent units with own-door accommodation and supported structures. It is currently run by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Foyer projects could be a game-changer in homelessness. I urge the Minister to look at that again. People such as Brendan Kenny are very much disposed to it.

I offer my congratulations to the Minister. He is doing a fine job. I thank him for his presentation to our parliamentary party last week. He was very warmly welcomed and it was a real honour to have him there and to hear how much he listened to us. It was a real symbol of our party moving forward in our determination and commitment to solve this housing problem.