Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on the Housing for All strategy. I thank the Minister for being present and for his Ministers of State filling in as well. I thank them all for the momentous work done on this document. I refer to putting together the policies that have made it the great document it is. It well deserves the praise it is getting. Everybody agrees that the housing situation is simply not where it needs to be. It was stated in the past that Fianna Fáil was a party closely linked with housing. Some would also say that we are close to developers. Unashamedly, I say that we are close to developers. That is the case for one very good reason. It is because we seem to realise what is necessary in this country in respect of the provision of homes. We are able to recognise what is needed to pull policy together and to make things happen when it comes to homeownership and the provision of homes. That is exactly what this plan is about.

Having said that, the major and most pertinent issue for me, and I am not going to speak at length about this today, when it comes to housing is mica. It would be remiss of me not to mention this issue given that these are an important few days in the development of this scheme. The next 24 to 48 hours will be important for the Department and for the working group that was set up. I commend all those who have worked on that group so far. I emphasise strongly that we have an opportunity to try to address the concerns of many genuine people who have been left in an awful situation. I ask that these people be given the provisions as others across the country were given in the past.

The increase in the costs of building houses should also be recognised. I refer to tendering costs, etc., in this regard. They have increased by approximately 40% to 50% in the past nine months alone. Any review of the mica redress scheme must be cognisant of that. In addition, it must recognise that people need guarantees. People who partake of such a scheme, after it is reviewed, must have assurances that they will be able to get insurance for their houses in future and that they will be able to draw down mortgages. Therefore, certain mechanisms and guarantees must be included as part of this review. I ask the Minister to relay this message to his officials and ensure that it forms part of the review. Many other areas and aspects remain to be addressed. We may get another opportunity to discuss this matter further with the Minister and his officials before the scheme is finalised.

Like many colleagues, I fully support the Housing for All strategy. Also like many others, however, I have some fears. As has been said, every council in the country is cognisant of difficulties with Irish Water. It is an issue in towns and villages everywhere. I fear that this is the one area that will cause difficulties for the Housing for All strategy down the road, if it is not tackled now. Like Senator Ahearn, I also question some of the spending by Irish Water. It is one of the organisations in the State that is not approachable. It is also somewhat undemocratic. Those who represent people in local areas do not get the access to that organisation that public representatives are able to avail of in the context of other public bodies. The result is that Irish Water does not have the same accountability. It is impossible to question some of the actions the company is taking in respect of scheme upgrades in towns and villages. This is causing great difficulty. Overall, however, I welcome this Housing for All strategy. I am behind it fully and I look forward to its implementation.