Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 30 May 2001

Vol. 537 No. 3

Priority Questions. - Housing Output.

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

37 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on the projections of the Irish House Builders Association that house construction will be down by 17% in 2001; the reason for the reduction in house building; the further reason the number of local authority houses completed in 2000 was the lowest for eight years; the implications for housing affordability and availability of these reductions in housing output; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15933/01]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Molloy)

I do not accept that housing construction will be down by 17% this year. House completions for the first four months of this year show an increase of 4.2% over the same period in 2000, which was the sixth year of record housing output. We have been building houses at by far the highest rate in Europe in relation to population and after six consecutive years of record output I expect a continued high level of output this year.

While local authority housing output last year was disappointing, at about the same level as in 1997, it has to be borne in mind that 2000 was the first year of a four year multi-annual programme designed to deliver 25,000 local authority housing starts. At the end of last year there were over 5,000 houses under construction, which is the highest level since 1985. Moreover, I expect that local authorities will start over 7,000 houses this year.

Mr. Gilmore

Will the Minister explain how he can claim that housing construction is increasing when for every month of the past ten months, with the exception of one, HomeBond registrations have been significantly down on the previous year? Does he recall telling us two years ago that there was no housing crisis?

Mr. Molloy

I never said any such thing.

Mr. Gilmore

Is he now following the same logic by denying what everybody in the construction industry knows to be the case, that house construction is down this year? The Minister's policy of increasing supply is in tatters. The number of local authority houses built last year was the lowest for eight years, despite the fact that the number of people on the housing list has doubled. Is the Minister in charge of this area of policy or is he in denial? Why does he not accept that his policies are simply not working and will have to be changed? Does he have new proposals or initiatives to deal with the housing crisis he has presided over for the past four years?

Mr. Molloy

I wish to correct one comment. It is somewhat childish of Deputy Gilmore to claim I said there was no housing crisis. I admitted it.

Mr. Gilmore

It took a long time for the penny to drop.

An Ceann Comhairle

There should be no interruptions. Let us have an orderly Question Time.

Mr. Molloy

Meeting housing need is a huge challenge and I have always said that. If the Deputy wishes to call it a crisis, it does not matter to me. I am conscious of the need and demand for housing. We have had to deal with many difficulties, including exorbitant increases in house prices, but we have taken measures which have been successful in calming things down in that area.

While completions for the first four months of this year are up 4.2% on the same period last year, it is too early to make predictions about expected housing output. Claims of a 17% fall in private housing output are exaggerated. Comparison of HomeBond registrations in the year 2001 with the year 2000, when registrations were exceptionally high because of a change in HomeBond procedures, are misleading. While HomeBond registrations are down 17% in the first four months of 2001 compared to the 2000 figures, the decrease on the 1999 figure is significantly less at 6.4%.

While there might be some reduction in private housing output this year, there will be an increase in local authority and voluntary housing output. Local authority house building, excluding acquisitions, should be approximately 4,000 compared with 2,200 last year. Voluntary housing output should increase from 951 units last year to over 1,200 this year. The official figures for local authority housing completions in 2000, which the Deputy claims to be the lowest in eight years, is 3,207. The figure for 1997 was 3,217. I do not understand what the Deputy is seeking to compare.

The Deputy is getting into the semantics of whether the house is built by the local authority or on a PPP basis. What is important is the number of new houses being provided to enable people on the housing lists to be housed. We are putting much emphasis on encouraging PPP arrangements between the local authorities and local contractors to try to accelerate the programme. Is Deputy Gilmore opposed to our actions in providing increased funding and seeking quicker ways of achieving the construction of houses for people on the waiting lists? That is what he appears to imply.

Mr. Gilmore

There was a small glimmer of accuracy in part of the Minister's reply. He acknowledged that the level of private house construction is down this year. By what amount is the number of private houses under construction down this year on last year? Will he acknowledge that the number of houses being built is down, despite all the times he said over recent years that his wish was to increase supply and that the thrust of Government housing policy was to increase construction? That has failed and the figures prove it, and no amount of juggling of the percentages by the Minister will disguise that fact.

Mr. Molloy

I do not know Deputy Gilmore's agenda but the truth does not appear to be central to it.

Mr. Gilmore

My agenda is to solve the housing crisis.

Mr. Molloy

It is to issue false figures and argue his false case. The completions for the first four months of this year are up 4.2% on the same period last year.

Mr. Gilmore

What about the number under construction?

An Ceann Comhairle

The time is up. We must proceed to the next question.