Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I can only tell the Minister. He is telling me that and I am sure he is going to get a reply back. However, this is what I was told and other Members of this House were at that meeting as well. I was told there was no co-operation between local authorities in regard to that situation. I know of two people under stress in that case and, as the Minister knows, many people come from the Dublin local authorities to Kildare, where I am, and I am getting calls from them. If the Minister has some information on that, he should tell me because it is a huge issue in my area.

We asked the Minister and we wrote to the Taoiseach in regard to extending and continuing the eviction ban for four months to allow the Government’s solutions to work. It is what those at the coal face such as the housing bodies wanted in order to reduce the homeless figures. As my colleagues have said, it is important to read out the homeless figures. There are over 11,000 people in homelessness and 3,400 of those are children. That is the bottom line and it is where we are tonight.

There are a couple of other issues I want to raise with the Minister. Who are we going to get to build the houses? Apprenticeships were mentioned and while it is not an issue for the Minister, I believe what we need to do is pay the apprentices the minimum wage, as the union Connect has asked. In their first and second year, the pay of apprentices is too low and this is causing problems. For example, preliminary census figures tell us there are 166,000 vacant houses in the State and we need to do more in regard to bringing them back into use.

With regard to the cost-rental backstop, there are a couple of problems in my own local authority area and people have come to me. In fairness, the Minister increased the housing application loan by €5,000 but, unfortunately, it is still not enough and I am currently dealing with two cases which are just above that. The Minister told me this will be solved, hopefully, by the cost-rental backstop. Is there a limit on how much people can earn in that regard? We need to get more detail on it. It is coming in on 1 April, which is in a couple of days’ time, and the question is whether there is a limit set on the rent that people will pay. These are the questions people are asking me. This is what is happening.

I want to finish my contribution by taking the opportunity to again raise the issue of housing aid and housing adaptation loans. I know the Minister has a report on his desk, or that is what I was told on a Commencement matter in the last couple of months. I am also told we are hoping to get an increase in the loans. It is a huge issue. People are remaining in hospital, unfortunately, because they cannot build due to an increase in building costs. If the Minister has information on that, I would appreciate him telling the House tonight because many people are struggling to get their applications through.