Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I also thank the office of the Cathaoirleach for choosing this very important matter and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the House.

I raise with the Minister of State social housing schemes in Galway and Galway city and acknowledge that there is a considerable amount of work going on in respect of them. Significant social housing is being built in Galway city, especially in the Knocknacarra and the Galway city west area. It is also important to point out that there are a number of schemes in Galway city centre and in Galway city east which are much-needed and positive. The point I raise with the Minister of State is that this is very limited in respect of affordable housing schemes, at best. I spent 11 years on the local authority and I am very familiar with Galway city. The number one issue there is housing in our city.

As I am sure is the case for many Members of the House and in Kilkenny, the Minister of State’s home area, this is the number one issue. I receive representations on a daily basis from people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s and it is essential that this Government makes progress on the issue because if we do not, we will be in serious trouble.

As with elsewhere in Ireland, there is an urgent need for affordable housing. The level to which affordable housing is bring being prioritised in Galway seems to differ when one looks at Cork, Dublin, Limerick or Waterford. I have strong concerns that not enough attention is being placed on this in Galway. Given the billions of euro that have been committed in this housing area in budgets, I am informed that this is not a financial issue. It does not seem to be a lack of resources or financial backing at Government level which is responsible for this situation. My issue is that it is not happening on the ground.

We may also need to consider the message the Government is putting out. It is vital that local authorities are aware that affordable housing is as much a priority as social housing. That may require a change of communications.

There may also need to be more regular communication between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and local authorities and this communication needs to be upped and to be considered. For example, can we get more up-to-date progress reports on a monthly basis as it will be easy enough to count the affordable housing in Galway now in both city and county. I will await the Minister of State’s response and I do not want to pre-empt it.

Of course, I do not want any substantial time wasted on paperwork or on the limited resources of local authorities but ask for a document outlining same to put pressure on the director of housing and on the chief executive officers, as that is certainly not happening in Galway city and county, which is an area I can speak about, being very familiar with it.

I am open to alternative suggestions from the Minister of State that perhaps these are not needed but from my perspective, it is clear the local authorities may need to be made aware of how important affordable housing is viewed by Government, and that urgency is required to make progress in this area.

We have passed the midway point in the term of this Government and Covid-19 obviously had a major impact, which all Members of this House accept, but the number of affordable housing schemes in Galway certainly needs to increase quickly. I am greatly concerned now that this is not happening and will not do so under the current conditions. I await the Minister of State’s response to see how we are going to improve the situation on the ground in Galway city and county. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Minister of State.