Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I am disappointed the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government is not here. This is a really important issue for so many families living right across the city. There are tens of thousands of people living in flats in inner-city communities that have been neglected for decades. I cannot help but think that the Government is engaging in a form of social marginalisation and is pushing families out from their communities and homes, particularly in older flat complexes such as Pearse House, Mercer House and Markievicz House, which were all build by Herbert Simms not far off a century ago. People's homes have been neglected by the State to the point that many are near unlivable. Residents are being forced to live in completely unacceptable conditions, with rampant mould and pest infestations, broken and outdated utilities, poor security and general dereliction. Massive regeneration is needed across the city to make these flat complexes safe and comfortable places to raise a family.

Residents have been let down time and time again by successive governments, most recently by the shameful recent decision to scrap the regeneration of Pearse House. That has had a devastating impact on so many families. This decision has been absolutely devastating for people in the Pearse House community, who had their hopes callously taken away after fighting for so many years with constant maintenance issues and antisocial behaviour. It is a consistent issue in the flats, all flats and public housing in the inner city. Similarly, over in Mercer House, residents have been dealing with the same issues and have received next to nothing from the State. One family living in Mercer House had four incidents since Christmas of raw sewage flooding out into their flat. There was raw sewage all over the place. Their non-verbal three-year-old child was looking to get in and splash around. It is completely unacceptable and completely unhealthy. The drainage system is nearly 100 years old. It is outdated and not working. The conditions are shocking. I do not have time to list all the problems and issues. This is the reality in flat complexes across the city. Residents in Rathmines Avenue were promised by Dublin City Council that these flats would be regenerated almost ten years ago and they have had nothing done to them. The conditions in their homes are absolutely scandalous. There is no play area, just an overgrown area with wastewater in it, surrounded by dereliction and poverty. Markievicz House is a large flat complex which also has been completely neglected and abandoned by the Government. The conditions there are completely unacceptable, with damp and mould, and weekly sewage leaks. Like all flats, Markievicz House needs to be regenerated.

It has been said that European funding will drive this. Why has European funding not already been allocated to support flat regeneration? Early this week, the Government announced that a new agency was to be responsible for regeneration of the flats and it was going to be headed up by Dublin City Council. This new agency is appointing Dublin City Council to do the work that Dublin City Council has been trying to do for many years but has not got the funding for. They are doing what Dublin City Council is supposed to be doing already.It is just another layer of bureaucracy. Dublin City Council has not been given the funding to do things right for generations so flats in the inner city have been neglected. I do not think the council will get the additional funding it needs. Dublin is going from bad to worse. It feels unsafe to live and socialise in.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I have been asked by the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, to take this matter as he is unavailable. I thank Senator Andrews for raising this important issue. I am not familiar with many of the issues he raised, but it sounds as though work needs to be done. I will deliver the speech that was handed to me.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage fully supports many flat regeneration projects, which ensures that complexes with historical disadvantages are placed at the forefront of regeneration. The project plans for the regeneration of estates and flat complexes are a matter for the local authority concerned. In order to support local authorities in progressing such regeneration plans, the Department of housing is making a number of funding channels available to local authorities and approved housing bodies for such regeneration, including for the redevelopment of flat complexes. These include the social housing investment programme, SHIP, the affordable housing fund, AHF, the capital advance leasing facility, CALF, the cost rental equity loan, CREL, and the regeneration programme for remedial works. For flat complexes that are proposed for refurbishment or a mix of refurbishment and redevelopment, the Department of housing is making funding available through its estate regeneration funding channel.

The Department continues to work with Dublin City Council to further advance flat regeneration schemes and, to date, funding approval has been provided for a number of these projects. I will outline a number of projects that funding has been approved for. In Charlemont, 94 social homes have been delivered and funded through SHIP. In Dominick Street East, 72 social homes have been delivered and funded through SHIP. In St. Mary’s Mansions, 80 social homes have been delivered and funded through CALF. In O’Devaney Gardens, redevelopment as a mixed tenure community has been funded through SHIP, the AHF and CREL. In Emmet Road, formerly St. Michael’s Estate, redevelopment as a mixed tenure community has been funded through SHIP and AHF. In St. Teresa's Gardens, redevelopment as a mixed tenure community has been funded through SHIP and cost rental has been funded by the Land Development Agency. In Dorset Street, redevelopment has been funded through SHIP. In Dolphin House, phase 1 of 100 units has been completed and additional phases are in design. On Constitution Hill, a mix of deep refurbishment and redevelopment has been funded through regeneration.

In relation to Pearse House, which was mentioned by the Senator in his contribution, Dublin City Council has advised that it is further developing proposals to advance the regeneration of this flat complex. Having first received capital appraisal approval in April 2021, the subsequent pre-planning proposal by Dublin City Council for the regeneration of blocks L, M, N and P was to reduce the number of homes from 78 to 44. Due to the shortage of social housing across the country, the Department is not in a position to support proposals that would result in a significant loss of homes. Dublin City Council has informed the Department that it has instructed the design team to review the design strategy and examine all possibilities to ensure the maximum number of homes are available post refurbishment. Dublin City Council continues to investigate all design opportunities and liaise with the Department in order to progress the submission of a revised funding application.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State, but his response is disappointing. It is clear to many residents in the south inner city that the Government does note care about them or their families. There seems to be no direction. The only direction is a general descent into dereliction. Looking at the list the Minister of State read out, none of the flats in the south-east inner city are benefiting from funding or regeneration projects. Families in the south-east inner city have been abandoned. They have put up with completely unacceptable conditions, including mould, dampness and antisocial behaviour. It is unacceptable that in 2025, I have seen no evidence to suggest the Government has any plan to do anything to improve the lives of those living in the south-east inner city. There is no suggestion or evidence that the Government cares about families or communities in the south inner city.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Senator for his contribution. As I said, I am only taking this Commencement matter for the Minister of State, so I am not very familiar with the issues the Senator raised. However, if he wants to send on to me any concerns he has about the area he mentioned, I will pass them on to the Minister and ensure the Minister gets back to him with a response.

As I said earlier, the Department of housing is committed to ensuring tenants in social housing are provided with adequate housing that meets the standards laid down in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. The Department engages with all relevant local authorities on a regular basis regarding the progression of funding applications across all available funding streams for the regeneration of ageing complexes. In particular, there continues to be ongoing engagement with Dublin City Council on the regeneration of inner city flat complexes. The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, the implementation of a planned maintenance programme and the carrying out of retrospective repairs are matters for each individual local authority under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authority officials and elected members have an important role to play in this regard by making adequate budgetary provision for housing repairs and ongoing maintenance, utilising the significant housing rental income available to them as part of the annual budgetary process.

Notwithstanding the legal obligation on local authorities, the Department of housing provides funding under a number of stock improvement programmes, namely, planned maintenance, voids and energy efficiency retrofit programmes and disabled persons grants. If the Senator passes on the details to me or the Minister, I will make sure he gets a response. I thank him for his contribution.