First of all, I should like to congratulate the Minister on his contribution to social welfare in his Budget. He outlined clearly the problems facing the nation and through his financial policy suggested the remedies for them. His contribution to the social services is one of which we are very proud on this side of the House. He indicated he would find the necessary means to alleviate distress and provide further social welfare benefits to those in need.
One of the taxes the Minister imposed was on petrol. When this tax came before the House for acceptance, we found that the Esso Tiger had joined the Fine Gael Just Society. The Save the Tiger campaign was carried on by the Fine Gael Party even at the expense of the old age pensioners. Since the Minister introduced the Budget, they have been nibbling at it, not like a tiger but like a pet mouse. Later I will say more about the Fine Gael attitude to social welfare problems.
There seems to be an amount of confusion in both the minds of the Labour Party and the Fine Gael Party in regard to housing in general but particularly in Dublin city. In the Budget an additional £2.3 million was made available for housing. Dublin Corporation have got an increase in the amount required for housing. The housing position in Dublin has been completely distorted by so-called spokesmen for housing who appear on television programmes, who speak from soapboxes in all parts of the city and who speak here with an air of authority, but fortunately with false figures.
I would like to correct those figures and show the true position in relation to housing in Dublin. Up to the present Dublin Corporation have spent £70 million on tenant type houses and £20 million on SDA type houses, a total of £90 million. Dublin Corporation housing estates, consisting of tenant type houses, are valued at £100 million by the insurance companies. This is an indication of the type of programme that has been pursued over the years and the amount of money spent in an effort to bring about better conditions for our people. The corporation's debt at present is £64 million and, out of every pound of that debt, 18/11d. is in respect of housing. This gives an indication of the problem the corporation have faced in the past and the manner in which they made money available to solve it.
On 31st March last year there were 636 traditional type houses in production. At the moment there are 1,413 in production which includes 358 tenant purchase type houses. That is almost double the figure for last year. We have the Ballymun scheme which is providing an additional 1,387 houses and the total number of houses under construction is 2,800. We have seven tenders before the Minister awaiting sanction for 406 flats.
If those figures are accepted, and they are factual, one can readily understand the type of programme in progress in the city. That is far from the cries, the groans and moans we have heard from some speakers on the Opposition side who believe the headlines they see in some of the evening newspapers. I hope that the headlines in some of the evening newspapers last night were not correct. In relation to housing the figures quoted there from time to time were not correct.
There is also the development work in Kilbarrack. Contracts have been placed for £138,000. There is another contract in the same area for £87,000 for development work for future sites for homes for our people. One contractor has obtained both contracts. He has agreed to put in two separate units in order to expedite the development and to ensure that the work will be finished six months earlier than normal.
There is also site development work in Kilbarrack West which has been sanctioned and is in progress to the extent of £66,000, so that the corporation can proceed with greater speed with their housing programme in the future. This money has been made available by the Government and the work is being carried out. That should give the lie to the statements that nothing has been done in the city. That is what one would take from the spokesmen who spoke so loudly and so long on television, in some of the newspapers, from the soapboxes at Abbey Street, and outside corporation buildings on nights when there were meetings.
The corporation have been offered 1,500 houses by McInerney's in Tallaght for tenant purchase of which 380 have been accepted. There is a resolution of mine before the Housing Committee asking them to accept the 1,500 to further alleviate this problem. This will test the members of other political Parties who crow so loudly here and sometimes condemn the Government for doing nothing. They will have an opportunity to express themselves in no uncertain terms as to whether they want to relieve this situation in the shortest possible time.
There is also a deal for 876 houses from Gallaghers on another site. These give some indication of the type of development that is taking place in the programme of the corporation, and the concern which the responsible members of Dublin Corporation have in relation to tenant purchase type houses. I was at Ballymun the other day where the corporation have opened the first of the tenant purchase type schemes to provide homes for the people. The scheme is very attractive. It means that they can get these houses at a very low deposit of £150 and then at four guineas a week, which includes insurance, repayments and rates assessment. In our Party we aim at ensuring that the deserving section of the people are in a position to buy their own homes, and in a position to do so at a low deposit and a low rate of repayments. I feel we have had a very big breakthrough there.
The deposit of £150 is still too high in many cases. The necessary legislation has been passed which enables Dublin Corporation to give a 99 per cent loan in the case of corporation tenants which will bring them down to a much lower figure so that the people who have the capacity to pay but have not the deposit will be in a position to own their own homes. It is our desire to ensure that as many people as possible are in a position to have a stake in the community and own their own homes. We will force that through. Some of the political Parties are against tenant purchase, against people having a stake in the community, for their own good reasons. I know there will be opposition within the council and it will be tested in no uncertain terms in the coming months, but we will ensure where possible that people will be in a position to buy their own homes.
In addition to all that progress on site development and construction work, we have already acquired an additional 80 sites at Howth, 300 at Baldoyle, 250 at Ballymun Avenue, 550 at Tallaght, 600 at Rathfarnham, 267 acres at Kilbarrack North, 171½ acres at Blanchardstown/Clonsilla, 147 at Dunsink/Finglas South and 170 acres at Santry/Balcurris/Poppintree, a total of 755½ acres.
This gives some idea of the situation in relation to the corporation's housing programme and the projections for the future. This work has been done by a loyal group of people interested in housing development and interested in providing houses for our citizens. That is far from the picture painted from the Fine Gael benches, and by some Labour members. One Labour spokesman cleared the air somewhat and indicated that some progress was being made. That is the complete picture. There is no need for me to go further although there are still quite a number of statistics that are of assistance.
Tenders have been received for Sarah Place and Islandbridge, for Jamestown Road, Inchicore, for Ballygal Road East. Development work is in progress in Kimmage Road Lower and other schemes are in formulation. This brings the end of the housing situation within sight and I am quite sure therefore that in the future we will have the situation well in hand.
In the past two weeks we heard a number of individuals speaking on television, people who represent various sections of the community. Some of them are fellow travellers, but I do not know who selected some others.
