I was making the point that, in recent years, €18 million has been given to DION and that additional money was given to it in the previous budget.
Leaders’ Questions (Resumed).
The Taoiseach has given €15 million to Punchestown.
In addition to that, we are putting development officers into the communities to work in the areas and assist in them. Also, many of our old and not-so-old emigrants have returned home and many of our local authorities are now planning initiatives to house returned Irish emigrants. We have seen very good examples of that in the west or Ireland, where many such people who were living in poor accommodation in the United Kingdom are now returning to top quality accommodation back home. These are very welcome developments, never mind what we are doing in the areas of health and so on.
Many of them cannot afford to stay here.
Our local authorities cannot house them.
Last week, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, announced guidelines about one-off rural housing. It is suspected that was largely to curry favour in advance of the Ard-Fheis and the local elections.
Notwithstanding that, did the Taoiseach hear an interview with Mr. Jim Connolly, who did good work with rural resettlement in making use of houses that were left vacant due to the emigration that Deputy Rabbitte raised? In a radio interview in County Clare, he pointed out the large number of holiday homes that are lying empty and bringing no life to rural communities in many parts of the country. The Simon Community has calculated that a €500 levy on second homes could bring in €13.5 million, which is €2 million more than the cost of bed and breakfast services for the homeless in Dublin alone and would pay for quite a number of affordable homes.
On that, the ESRI mid-term review contained a recommendation for a tax on second homes, which the Taoiseach rejected out of hand. Will he explain why he did so? Does he not acknowledge that there is a problem with the large volume of holiday homes, particularly in areas in which the water table is not able to withstand further housing and that that causes a problem for people who need to live in rural areas and cannot because of the number of holiday homes?
The guidelines on sustainable rural housing that the Minister, Deputy Cullen, published last week followed a long discussion on the matter, which took place over the past year at least. Those guidelines give planning guidance to the local authorities and to An Bord Pleanála regarding the provision of rural one-off housing. The guidelines provide that, subject to good planning practice, which is the most important issue in the debate, people with rural links are to be favoured for planning, as will any applicant applying for permission in an area suffering from population decline.
Even for holiday homes?
I will answer the first part of the question first. We are talking about those were born in an area or who are from an area. We are trying to change the position in which those who have long been in an area, who have their heritage and roots in an area and who have a connection with the area were refused the chance of living in the area. This was a most extraordinary practice that we had in Ireland in recent years and it is still the practice in the many areas in which we still have population decline.
On the comment that I made about a tax on second homes, I reminded the interviewer of the difficulties I had as Minister for Finance and of the total lack of support in the House and elsewhere for the property tax. When I endeavoured to introduce that tax, I unfortunately could get little or no support for it in the House, the media or anywhere else.
Taoiseach, that is a shame.
(Interruptions).
Members should allow the Taoiseach to speak without interrupting.
Even those of the far left, who would almost fall off a cliff trying to show how far left they are, would not support the tax. I said to the interviewer that there was not much point in a tax on second homes, that I did not detect that people had changed and that those who were of the far left and would not support the property tax when I was Minister for Finance had probably all moved to the centre and would therefore not support me now.
It is amazing to hear the Taoiseach give the excuse that he could not get support from any quarter other than his own party and that that stopped him doing something. I presume that we therefore will not have electronic voting, because he is not enjoying an awful lot of support from the Opposition for that.
Taxing property is the first priority of Deputy Sargent's party.
The Taoiseach should consider the logic he is using because it is paper thin. Is he aware of the problems being stored up? There is no difficulty in many cases. A total of 18,000 houses was mentioned. When the Taoiseach says things are changing, what does he mean? There are many rural houses in this country, more than in other countries. What is his view on the fact that we are now the most car-dependent country in the world? The average distance travelled by Irish people in a year is 24,400 km., while those in the USA only travel 19,000 km. per year.
Why have none of the 10,000 houses agreed with the unions 14 months ago been built? Why has an architect not been appointed? Why are there so many derelict sites in towns and villages around the country? It this not a case of failing to do a job that needs to be done?
This Government has endeavoured to encourage urban renewal and improvement schemes to bring people back to rural communities. That is the purpose of decentralisation and of the national spatial strategy. That is why we have given incentives for country cottages over the years — so people would be living in depopulated areas at least for some of the year.
For how long? They might only stay for three weeks.
All over the world, people are trying to find ways of keeping people in rural communities. Franz Fischler, the Agriculture Commissioner, has continually stated that we should use agricultural policy to keep people in rural communities and regenerate these areas.
The Taoiseach should tell that to the Minister for Agriculture and Food.
Far more Structural Funds and CAP funds are now helping to revitalise communities than has been the case in the past.
It is a pity the Taoiseach is not getting any help from the Minister for Agriculture and Food.
The applications of 76% of the people who wanted to live in rural Ireland were being rejected. Even when the planning authority gave approval, 76% were then turned down by An Bord Pleanála.
That is untrue.
This was the only country in the modern world where people who wanted to live in rural communities and people who came from those communities were being rejected. At the same time, there was a bizarre policy under which one could obtain planning permission to build in one's back garden and front garden in city and urban areas.
Where are the 10,000 houses?
It is the most stupid policy ever and it is about time we changed it.
I asked that question and I received no answer.