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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 1 Apr 1999

Vol. 503 No. 2

Housing, Planning and Transportation: Statements (Resumed).

Deputy Wright was in possession and he is sharing time with Deputy Noel Ahern. I call Deputy Ahern.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on these issues. I listened to the Labour Party speakers earlier. They were full of talk about crises and chaos in housing. That is terrible hypocrisy. I listen to them regularly at local authority meetings where they say the same thing. One week in Dublin Corporation they were declaring a housing crisis but a couple of days later they blocked every possible application to build extra houses. Some people try to have both sides of the coin and as a result get extremely confused.

There was a major debate on this matter at city council level in Dublin last week. Labour Party representatives and others walked out in a most undemocratic manner when they could not get their way. They demand houses but they block the building of houses at every possible opportunity. That simply does not make sense.

Some politicians, particularly Labour Party politicians, have given rezoning a bad name. If houses are to be built, they must be built on land. Looking at how the city has developed and expanded over the decades, one can see that new houses must be built in green field sites and that that can only be done by rezoning land. I do not stand over every rezoning decision. Obviously there were some errors. Human nature means there will be failures and failures have occurred. However, we cannot allow rezoning to have a bad name. We must acknowledge that if we want more housing, we must provide the land.

The main problems in the housing market relate to success and prosperity. There is huge growth in the number of young people in the 20 to 30 years age group who are buying houses. There is also huge net immigration. The demographic experts obviously provided the wrong information ten and 15 years ago.

The housing market is about supply and demand. The measures outlined by the Minister of State are working but they will take time. One cannot simply click one's fingers and produce houses in a field. It takes a year or two for the measures one adopts to show results. However, the swift Government action following the Bacon report is having and will continue to have an effect. The huge amount of money being invested in the serviced land initiative is the right course to take. It is directed at providing more houses. Approximately 42,000 extra houses were built last year. If that policy can be continued for the next couple of years, it will break the back of the problem.

The Department of the Environment and Local Government is the lead Department in this area. It has done much good work. However, other Departments should get involved. My constituency, although it comprised the same geographic area ten years ago, was a four seater constituency. Now it is a three seater. There is the same number of houses but the population has decreased. This is the empty nest syndrome. Many houses in my constituency, private and local authority, which were once inhabited by families are now inhabited by widows. The Department should examine innovative measures to try to recycle some of those houses. I am opposed to somebody being forced out of the house in which they raised their families but there are ways, private and public, to encourage them to move. If other houses are provided, they will move and make better use of those houses.

Several Departments, including the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and the Department of Finance, could play a role in housing but so far they have not been drawn in. I meet many widows who say that if they take in a lodger or rent out part of their house, they will have to pay tax on the income and will lose their free schemes and living alone allowance. They virtually have to evict their sons if they are unemployed because they cannot get the dole if they are living at home. If the son leaves home, he qualifies for rent allowance and the dole.

The Department of the Environment and Local Government is doing great work but it must try to involve other Departments. The Department of Health and Children could have a role. It would be a great help if there were shel tered and secure units with medical facilities nearby which were suitable for elderly people. The Departments need to pull together. There must be a realisation that up to five Departments have a role and responsibility in tackling the housing problem. Much could be achieved.

People talk about the huge numbers on local authority waiting lists. They claim that thousands of young couples are waiting for houses. That is emotive talk. In Dublin city only 12 per cent of the people on the housing list are couples with children; 59 per cent are lone parents and 20 per cent are single people. We talk about the nice young couple but the vast majority of these people are lone parents or single persons. We seem to broaden the housing list every year to take in additional people who previously would not have qualified.

Debate adjourned.
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