Mary White (Fianna Fail)
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I apologise to the Minister of State for my delay in arriving. I meant no disrespect to the protocol of the House. I was protesting at the gate with the West Cork Alliance which is protesting against the cuts to rural transport, the fishery cuts and cuts in home care provision. I also spoke about the abolition of the town councils and said, speaking thorough a megaphone, that this Government has a slash and burn approach to all these cuts. I do not include the Minister of State personally in that comment because I know what an outstanding politician she is, having sat on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children with her.

Fianna Fáil passed the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, which this Bill amends, in order to update and consolidate housing law. The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 amends and extends the Housing Acts 1966 to 2004 to provide local authorities with a framework for a more strategic approach to the delivery and management of housing services. That framework provides for the adoption of housing services plans, homelessness, action plans and anti-social behaviour strategies, for new more effective methods of assessing need and allocating housing, and for a more effective management and control regime covering tenancies, rents, etc. Fianna Fáil supports this technical Bill which builds upon legislation introduced by us in 2009. The topic raised, however, illustrates the failure of the Government to tackle the housing crisis in the country with 100,000 applicants on the local authority housing waiting lists.

The failure of the Government to use NAMA properties to help address the problem is a damning indictment of the failure of the imagination of the Government to confront the challenges facing it. Local authority rents also raise the question of the impact of the property tax on council coffers and the approach taken by councils to imposing the charge or absorbing it into their own balance sheets.

In respect of property tax and rents, housing units are not exempt from the local property tax as they are from the local authority charge and the authorities involved will be charged for the due sum. The Bill does not refer to the impact of the property tax on local authority tenants.

The Bill makes no reference to the impact of the property tax on local authority tenants or to the varying approaches taken by different local authorities, with some adding the charge on to the annual rents and others absorbing it directly on their bank sheets. The local property tax on local authority housing will be €45 this year and €90 in 2014, with unknown increases due in the coming years as the Government inevitably hikes up the tax.

If local authorities pass these costs on to ordinary homeowners, it will be another sharp blow to the already struggling low-income households across the country. The decision to impose the local property tax on local authority homes will generate real financial difficulties for embattled councils, which have already had funding slashed.

I wish the Minister of State success in her political career and as a Minister. Hers was a well-deserved appointment.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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At some point in the future, the House would appreciate having the Minister of State here for a longer period of time to talk more generally about the future of social housing and other forms of housing delivery because it has come up a number of times on the Order of Business. Almost every party has raised it. It is not ideal for us to use a debate on legislation to bend the Minister of State's ear, so I would appreciate it if she came back to the House.

As the Minister of State said, the Bill makes a technical amendment to section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. For me the principal issue with this Bill is the deletion of section 31(6). Historically, the differential rental scheme has been a very important aspect of Irish social housing. When it was introduced in the 1960s and enshrined in law in the 1966 Housing Act, it made housing available on the basis of the means of a household and on the basis of that household's composition and need. It was a needs-based form of social housing delivery and it contrasted quite significantly with what we had in the 1930s and 1940s. While I do not want to go into a history lesson, it was a very important principle that if one had a housing need, it should be satisfied and any rent should be charged on the basis of one's ability to pay it.

Section 31 attempted to give local authorities and differential rent schemes the possibility of charging rents based more on the location of the property and on other factors. I am very gratified that the Minister of State said that she is fully in favour of local authority rents being linked to household income as an important principle and not on anything else. I very much welcome that because it is an important principle which goes to the core of what this country is about, namely, the provision of housing according to one's need and one's ability to pay.

It is no secret that we have as many differential rent schemes in this country as we have shades of green. It is not acceptable, nor is it the way to do business. As the Minister of State said, there is no justification whatsoever for this disparate approach. One will pay a higher rent in one part of the country than in another which bears no relationship whatsoever to the housing unit one is socially renting or to one's family circumstances. That is ridiculous and should not be allowed. The principle is an important one and it is based on need and ability to pay.

There has been a very significant change to the housing system in this country over the past decade with rent supplement, in effect, replacing social housing as the main form of social housing support and with the roll out of RAS. I congratulate the Minister of State and the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, on their commitment to rolling out the housing assistance payment system, which is a very significant development for the considerable number of people getting their housing with assistance from the State.

There has been a very clear divide up to now between tenants who are paying rent supplement in the private rented sector and those who are lucky enough to be in receipt of social housing. If one is receipt of social housing, one can pay differential rent, whereas is one is in receipt of rent supplement, one has to stay poor to keep getting that support. That is keeping people in poverty and I very much support the transfer of the rent supplement scheme to local authorities and the introduction of a differential rent scheme, through the housing assistance payment, HAP, in the rent supplement sector. It will be a very positive force. From my experience wearing a different hat, I know that the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, has been very successful in terms of labour market activation and people do return to work when they have an opportunity to do so. There is very little or no doubt about this.

I very much welcome the introduction of the housing assistance payment. I also welcome the Minister of State's statement that she will legislate for a new tenant purchase scheme along the lines of the incremental purchase scheme. One of the benefits of incremental purchase is that it does not necessarily relate to the dwelling a person is in. The beauty is that a tenant who is receiving social housing supports, through the housing assistance payment or the rental accommodation scheme, for example, will be eligible for the incremental purchase scheme, whereas before one had to be living in a council house. This is because tenants in the voluntary housing sector have no eligibility for the tenant purchase scheme. It will be important in levelling the paying field in order that any tenant who is receiving social housing supports will have eligibility for the tenant purchase scheme.

I take the opportunity to make one special plea regarding tenants in flats who, as far back as 1986, were promised the opportunity to buy them. This is a particularly important issue in Dublin and Cork. Many tenants have tried on numerous occasions to buy the flats in which they have been living and various Governments of different hue have tried to implement a tenant purchase scheme for flats. It was announced under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the Department has put in place pilot projects. The one difficulty is that it is to be introduced under the incremental purchase scheme, which gives the discount into the future as opposed for years already elapsed. I do not want to get too technical about this, but one of the difficulties is that many of the occupants have been tenants for 30 or 40 years. If they are to be given no credit for the years they have already put in, they will not be in a position to purchase their flats. Given that successive Governments, including this one, gave them that commitment, I would like to see the traditional tenant purchase scheme put in place, specifically, if necessary, for the purchase of flats. It is a commitment we must fulfil.

I congratulate the Minister of State on the social housing programme. We have made much progress. There is much to be proud of that is ongoing in the Government. The Minister of State will go down in history as a reforming Minister and I hope we will look back on this period, particularly on the introduction of the housing assistance payment, as being very positive for a significant number of people. Some 26,000 could expect to benefit under the housing assistance payment when it is introduced.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Cé go bhfuil muid ag fáiltiú roimh an Bille seo agus go bhfuil muid ag tacú leis na gnéithe a bhaineann leis, caithfear an rud seo a chur i gcomhthéacs agus a rá go bhfuil polasaí an Rialtais i leith tithíocht shóisialta ina phraiseach i ndáiríre. The social housing system is in crisis. Almost 100,000 households are on local authority waiting lists. Almost the same number are in receipt of rent supplement and emergency social welfare payments for those who are unable to pay their rent in the private sector. Central and local government spending on social housing building, buying and maintenance has been slashed since 2008. Never has housing need been so great and never has the cost of housing been so low. However, the housing policy of the Government, like the last one, has been characterised by inertia and inaction. It is an indictment of the Government that after two and a half years in office this is the first significant legislation it has brought forward for consideration. While Sinn Féin will support the Bill, I am compelled to use this short opportunity to highlight the broader failure of Government housing policy.

For some years the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, supported by two Governments, has been abandoning the direct provision of social housing by the State.

In its place they have been pushing private sector solutions to the housing crisis. It is an issue which is particularly difficult in rural areas. The list of schemes and acronyms grows ever longer. First, there was the rental accommodation scheme and then the long-term leasing scheme. To these were added the applicant-sourced housing scheme. Let us not forget the incremental purchase scheme or the choice-based letting scheme. As each Administration adds to the number of schemes, the number of households languishing on social housing waiting lists grows ever longer. There is an urgent need for a new approach to social housing. Innovative funding approaches are available if central and local government have the policy imagination and political will to develop them. Whatever happened to the social housing bonds promised in the programme for Government? Why is the Government failing to develop innovative ways to draw down Housing Finance Agency funding to take advantage of the great value for money in the market? I am interested in hearing the Minister of State's answers.

We need as a matter of urgency a new approach to housing. We must revert to direct provision of social housing by the State and develop new funding models similar to those used elsewhere in the European Union. Crucially, we must get people off rent supplement, local authority waiting lists and the streets into long-term suitable and sustainable accommodation. The Bill represents an improvement on the current system. It is welcome that it provides elected members of local authorities with a greater say in rent setting. It is a pity the Minister of State did not use the Bill as an opportunity to achieve greater standardisation and harmonisation of rental systems across the State.

Senator Mary White raised an important point. We hear that the property tax will be passed on to tenants in quite a number of cases. It is hypocritical to bring forward a Bill which takes on board people's ability to pay, while the property tax does not take this into consideration at all. I hope the Minister of State indicates that she will direct local authorities not to add the property tax to the rent of tenants in the relevant housing. Harmonisation would have been relatively easy to achieve and would have improved the social housing system significantly. Having said that, Sinn Féin is happy to support the Bill, notwithstanding that it proposes only modest changes to the current system.

Táimid ag tacú leis an mBille ach níl anseo ach sop in áit na scuaibe, teastaíonn gníomhaíocht i bhfad níos mó maidir leis na daoine ar fad atá ag fanacht ar na liostaí tithíochta. Housing is the issue raised most often with me by constituents, in particular in relation to the fact that local authorities are not building any housing stock worth talking about. It is a serious issue on which I await the Minister of State's remarks with interest.

Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Bill. It is a small but important body of legislation which will ensure there is a uniform approach to rents nationally. Everybody will welcome this. The debate provides Members with an opportunity to make contributions on the general issue of housing and housing supports for individuals who cannot afford to provide their own homes. It has been mentioned that there are 100,000 people on local authority housing waiting lists. My experience has been that many of the people concerned are happy with the accommodation they have under the rental accommodation and other rent assistance schemes. They are not homeless and their accommodation is being provided or supported, which is an important point to make.

The Minister of State spoke about her hope of again introducing a tenant purchase scheme, which is welcome. While it is good to encourage individuals to own their homes, there is a danger that the stock of local authority housing can be run down. This was particularly an issue in Cork following the introduction of the previous tenant purchase scheme. Tenant purchase is well and good at a time when local authorities or the Government are building housing, but when the stock is not being replenished, issues can arise. On the whole, I encourage home ownership, where possible. It is important for individuals as a contribution to their community and in the sense that it allows them to manage their own properties.

I welcome and support the rental accommodation scheme. I speak regularly of this worthwhile scheme. It has improved the quality of rental accommodation because of the level of supervision by local authorities. It has also provided certainty to individuals to seek employment and to move on from needing housing support. It is also of benefit to landlords with properties to offer because there is certainty in the relationship over a number of years. It is a win-win situation and while it was slow to start it is doing very well now. Local authorities are responding well to it.

I wish local authorities would engage more with landlords in sourcing accommodation because my experience is that they leave it to individuals to source accommodation and make a proposal. If landlords approached the local authorities, it might be better for tenants. It is a positive scheme, particularly for single people. I found that, particularly in Cork, apartments can be utilised for individuals in single person households. In the past, it was very difficult for single people to find accommodation. I urge the Minister of State to encourage local authorities and work on this and ensure it is developed and progressed. I welcome the Bill and the fact that it will give councils an opportunity to be involved in the rent setting mechanism, which is important. Individuals or households will pay rent on the basis of income, which is welcome.

Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)
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Senator Mary White outlined our position on this short Bill, which has been brought forward to amend the 2009 legislation. This was introduced to tidy up legislation that spanned 1966 to 2004. In any local authority, there is a housing waiting list but at the moment the lists are getting longer. We talk about local authority housing in respect of this Bill but there is a wider housing crisis in respect of people with mortgage difficulties, mortgage arrears and associated difficulties, such as banks putting pressure on people to repay moneys due. For the purposes of the debate, I will zone in on the legislation.

Fianna Fáil is supporting the legislation. I refer to the current difficulties local authorities have in dealing with housing waiting lists. Donegal County Council has many vacant properties but the council does not have the resources to bring them to the required standard so they can be rented out. Families are waiting on accommodation when the accommodation should be made available faster. Perhaps the Minister of State can raise this matter with the local authority.

Some 100,000 families are on the national housing waiting list and the issue needs attention. On one side of the coin the Department of Social Protection spends over €500 million a year in rent supplement payments. The money would be better used to build or purchase units, particularly when the price of property has fallen. A number of years ago, a housing leasing initiative was introduced but it has not been a success. In my view, in the views of tenants and from talking to local authority officials, the leasing scheme has not been the success everyone envisaged.

What are the Minister of State's views on that?

What is happening with the properties under NAMA's control? The agency has identified almost 4,000 units that could be made available for social housing. I understand local authorities have confirmed that 1,500 units would be suitable forthwith while another 800 are being evaluated, bringing the total that may be deemed suitable by them to 2,350. Are discussions taking place between the Department and the agency to house 2,500 families in those properties. Why is there a delay in bringing that to fruition?

I refer to the local property tax. Local authorities are strapped for cash and they are being asked to collect €2 per week from local authority tenants, which will create difficulties both for the local authorities and the tenants.

Housing assistance is available through the essential repairs and disabled person's grant schemes. However, those grants have been greatly diminished. The percentage available in comparison to the overall cost of any such work is low and this is deterring many individuals with disabilities from upgrading or carrying out essential works to their houses. There is a need to review the schemes to make sure the percentage allocated is higher than it is currently. It is wrong that a disabled person cannot carry out essential works to their house because the grant is so low. Local authority staff who administer these schemes say that they are so restrictive that they cannot go beyond what is laid down in the conditions attaching to them. This issue needs to be examined. Little money is being made available under those grant schemes. We must look after the elderly and people with disabilities in local authority housing and in private housing. If the elderly cannot upgrade their homes to convert a bedroom, install a shower and so on, they will end up in nursing homes and that will cost the State more money. A joined-up approach is needed from the Government on the issue.

Denis Landy (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I commend her and the Government on the stimulus package being put in place to provide improvements to local authority housing stock. Up to €50 million will be made available under this package and this is most welcome. I respect what the previous speaker said but this money will enable much of the work he mentioned to be carried out on housing stock that is in poor condition and provide for extensions where families have increased in number. This package will generate work and kick-start local economies with construction workers returning to employment. It will be a worthwhile and excellent scheme. I look forward to some of the money coming to south Tipperary and I will speak to the Minister of State about that.

While I welcome the legislation, I have a number of queries. It is fair that people pay based on their income. Properties are being assessed currently but different rates apply in the same local authority area because the property values are different, for example, in a town.

Houses on one housing estate may have a different valuation than on another and, hence, newer estates will attract different rents than older ones under the differential rent scheme. It is welcome that local councillors are being given discretion in this area. How much discretion will there be to differentiate between those who move into local authority housing that is five years old as opposed to older houses such as those in my estate which was built in 1939? Currently, there is a difference between the rents payable on both types of estate. One person may be living in a fully modern house, while another may be living in a house that is 70 or 80 years old. Will the Minister of State elaborate on the discretion that applies?

How will the scheme apply across the country? In Dublin and other cities the facilities made available to people are better than those in rural areas where there may be isolated cottages and no public transport. All of these points were factored into the existing differential rent scheme. The Minister of State mentioned discretion. Will she expand on what she means by "discretion" that is to be exercised by local elected members?

How long will the transition period be? How will it operate? Harmonisation would probably be good for some and not for others. With regard to people who are adjusting, how long will the transition period be? It is not clear from what I read in the legislation or the explanatory memorandum. I would greatly appreciate it if the Minister of State answered these questions.

Senator Aideen Hayden has welcomed the fact that the Government intends to introduce a new tenant purchase scheme. It is very important that people believe they have the opportunity to purchase their own house, put down roots and keep their house for future generations. In this way, they will not be concerned about the loss of the family history associated with their house on their passing away.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy Michael P. Kitt, to the Visitors Gallery.

Denis Landy (Labour)
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Will the Minister of State comment on the discretion to be afforded to elected local authority members in regard to the HAP scheme?

Denis Landy (Labour)
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Will the Minister of State take into account what I said regarding the variation in property and rental values in different locations?

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Does the Minister of State have any thoughts on the property tax being transferred to tenants?

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Caít Keane (Fine Gael)
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Next Thursday.