Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for making himself available to take this Commencement matter. The Minister of State will be aware that I regularly raise issues facing people in my own area of south Kildare, a place which the Minister of State is very familiar with, in regard to accessing housing and, of course, the rental market within our communities.

My office regularly deals with complex and difficult housing situations, and I know this is no different for the Minister of State or for other Members of this House. I am confident, however, that Housing for All is having, and will continue to have, a meaningful impact on the housing market in south Kildare and, indeed, across the country.

When we look at supply and at the increase in 2022, when 29,851 homes were completed, this is an increase of 45.2% on 2021 and 41.3% on 2019, which was prior to the pandemic. This is always important to note.

Obviously, the Government is driving significant reforms. I am aware the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, recently published the draft planning and development Bill which will bring greater clarity, and consistency and certainty to how planning decisions are made.That is very important. A record €4.5 billion in State housing investment will be available in 2023 to directly build social and affordable homes. Additionally, the Government is making progress in tackling vacancy and dereliction. This is again very important. In my area, I have seen the heightened focus of my local authority in tackling dereliction and in using the Derelict Sites Act to register and effectively force owners to maintain and develop their properties. I thank, in particular, Mr. Joe Boland, a director with Kildare County Council for his help with this matter. This undertaking has a positive impact in ensuring we do not have antisocial behaviour in these areas.

There is no doubt, then, that we are taking decisive and significant strides to better provide for our citizens in this sphere. We are all aware, however, of the somewhat unforeseen impacts of the ban on no-fault evictions. I believe this ban is the correct intervention and it makes sense to protect those tenants due to face the open rental market, many of whom would have been deemed at risk of homelessness as a result of a decade of undersupply. Many people, though, can and are accessing the property market and are able to purchase a home. I refer to young people who have had to make huge personal sacrifices. They have moved back in with their families and returned to their childhood bedrooms to save and set themselves up financially to purchase their first homes in a very difficult market. These people have worked incredibly hard to get to a point where they can purchase a house but many are struggling to secure their properties because of this eviction ban.

One case I am dealing with, which prompted me to table this Commencement matter, concerns a couple from my village of Rathangan. They reached out to me earlier in the year looking for guidance on how to deal with their mortgage lender. This couple had gone sale agreed on a property in the village, which is currently rented, and the tenants are waiting on their new-build home to be completed. As a result of the ban on evictions, the tenants will remain in the property until at least 1 April 2023. Initially, this couple were meant to close the sale on 6 January 2023, but this has not happened and this has left them in a very difficult situation. Not drawing down the mortgage funds by 13 February 2023 would see the fixed interest rate increase from 3.1% to 3.9%. This amounts to an extra €110 in repayments. If the mortgage has still not been drawn down by 13 April 2023, the interest rate will then go up again to 4.4%. This couple's deposit is fully paid but their inability to secure the property means their interest rate continues to increase, through no fault of their own.

The tenants have every right to remain in that property. The frustration felt by this couple does not stem from those tenants in situbut from the situation they have found themselves in. Of course, I engaged with the lender. I was informed that nothing could be done and the institution was not in a position to extend the fixed interest rate. It means this couple, and countless others, I am sure, remain in limbo. They finally achieved their dream of purchasing their own house but cannot realise it. All the while, the cost of doing so continues to increase due to no fault of their own. What is the Department of Finance doing to help protect these buyers, many of whom are young, first-time purchasers who simply cannot afford these increases at this stage of their lives?