I move.
That Dáil Éireann records its grave concern at the continuing increase in the price of building land and the consequent cost of houses to private house purchasers and local authority tenants and calls on the Government, if necessary by taking steps to amend the Constitution, to designate now the land required for house building and bring it under community control at prices determined by its previous use.
We in the Labour Party have been urging the Government to put an end to land speculation. It has gone on, unheeded by the present Government, for far too long and I do not think this anti-social behaviour of land speculation is in the interests of the country or the community. The Constitution never intended that one section of the people should be permitted to exploit another section but speculators are permitted to exploit young married couples and other people with families.
Recently, I heard the Minister for Local Government speak about the wonderful progress in house construction throughout the country. He quoted figures to support that claim. However, I am aware that there are literally thousands of people in Dublin alone who are living in subnormal, substandard accommodation, that families are separated and that as many as 15 people are living in two-bedroomed houses. Deputies on all sides know that thousands of people cannot find accommodation. They are people who would make every effort to provide their own home if houses could be bought at realistic prices. They are responsible people anxious to provide homes for their families but they are being deprived of that opportunity by this society, because land speculators are exploiting them by raising the price of building land to such an extent that it is impossible for people who need houses to provide the deposits required.
If anybody cares to look at the property sections of the national newspapers he will see that for new houses in County Dublin and extending as far as County Kildare a person is required to have a minimum deposit of £1,500. I am not exaggerating when I say that. How could a young married man with a wife and one or two children be expected to provide a minimum deposit of £1,500 when he is being taxed to the present extent by the Government? It is utterly impossible. If it were possible I would be able to advise the many constituents who come to me each week seeking any way in which they could provide deposits for houses. They ask me if I can tell them of any way in which they can raise these deposits and I have to confess that I cannot.
Those people are unable to provide these high deposits. No man with a young family could do it on present income levels. If the Minister for Local Government thinks he has a remedy I shall be glad to direct all those constituents of mine to the Department. When the previous Minister, Deputy Blaney, was in charge of the Department I badgered him every day in the Dáil about this problem and I told the people who came to me to write directly to the Minister, but it did not make any difference.
Those people who exploit so many young families are not paying taxes. They are parasites and I do not think any Deputy would disagree with me when I say that such parasites should be penalised at all costs. Article 43 of the Constitution states:
1. The State acknowledges that man, in virtue of his rational being, has the natural right, antecedent to positive law, to the private ownership of external goods.
2. The State accordingly guarantees to pass no law attempting to abolish the right of private ownership or the general right to transfer, bequeath, and inherit property.
2.1 The State recognises, however, that the exercise of the rights mentioned in the foregoing provisions of this Article ought, in civil society, to be regarded by the principles of social justice.
2.2. The State, accordingly, may as occasion requires delimit by law the exercise of the said rights with a view to reconciling their exercise with the exigencies of the common good.
The Minister for Local Government has said that the Government have been trying over many years to consider how they could acquire land or make it simple for authorities to acquire land without conflicting in any way with the Constitution. I understand that the Minister has set up a commission to inquire into this. I think it is called the Kenny Commission. The main thing is that the Government feel that it would not be possible for them to do this. They feel that any attempt by the State to take over land for building purposes would be unconstitutional. What I say and what we in the Labour Party say is that the use of land for social purposes should be subject to community control. The present system of dealing in building land leads to speculation and exorbitant profits. We say that society is frequently held up to ransom by being forced to pay greatly inflated prices for building land and the cost of securing such land has seriously limited the ability of local authorities to secure adequate pools of land to meet their requirements.
Local authorities service land fully and speculators take advantage of this fact by raising the price of land and making it impossible for houses to be built at economic prices. The Minister has said that the site accounts for roughly 20 per cent of the total cost of a house. The Minister has said he is anxious to bring about a situation in which builders and persons seeking building land will go to the local authorities for sites. The Minister admits that there is land speculation and he says he is anxious to call a halt to it. He says it has been going on in recent years. We in the Labour Party know it has gone on unhindered despite our protests, despite the fact that we brought it to the attention of the Government over the years. Each and every Minister for Local Government has allowed it to continue and I am saying in the House that friends of the Government, members of the party, have been involved in this land speculation. They have cashed in on it, these parasites that attach themselves to the Fianna Fáil Party. Knowing the inside information, they have acquired this land and are now the millionaires of our country. These are the people we have now in our midst. These are the upper classes, the nouveau riche, who have availed of this and have exploited to the fullest the people who are most in need.
I want to ask the Minister for Local Government how soon will this Kenny Committee report on this and how can we acquire land within the framework of the Constitution so that land can be made available to people and to builders at economic prices. It is wrong that land speculators should be provided with facilities by the local authority, have fully serviced land available to them and sell this at exorbitant prices.
The Minister in his speech on the Supplementary Estimate for Local Government said that there are other factors involved, but the main factor involved is the cost of the site. The Minister said that local authorities have been given permission to acquire land but they are acquiring land at competitive prices, land which has been serviced by them, and they are acquiring it at full market value. It is wrong and it is morally unjust that they must acquire land which has been serviced by them from these speculators.
We hear again and again the boasts of the present Government that they are building more houses than ever before. They say that 14,000 houses were built last year. I do not doubt that, but 20,000 houses and more were needed last year and if we take into account the number of substandard dwellings in Dublin city alone we would need at least 80,000 houses. This is a phenomenal figure but it is the exact situation.
My colleague, Deputy Dr. O'Donovan, mentioned to me Hollyfield Buildings. I do not know whether the Minister for Local Government or his secretary were ever in Hollyfield Buildings. It would be a revelation for anyone to go into Hollyfield Buildings and see people existing in 1971 in such circumstances. They have no toilets except communal toilets. People are living in hovels, in substandard dwellings that should have been demolished 20 years ago. I have visited every single flat in Hollyfield Buildings and I can tell you what the conditions are like there. These flats have no proper locks on the doors. They are owned by Dublin Corporation. One particular flat has no electricity supply. A man and his mother live there. There never was electricity connected to this place. They are living in primitive conditions. I brought this to the attention of the Minister for Local Government and pleaded with him quite recently in a letter to make representations to Dublin Corporation to have electricity connected to this flat.
