Affordable Housing: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

The following motion was moved by Deputy Eoin Ó Broin on Tuesday, 7 July 2020:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes:

— the absence of any targets for the delivery of affordable rental or purchase homes in the Programme for Government;

— the absence of any definition of affordable housing or any price points for affordable housing in the Programme for Government;

— the delays in delivering an affordable cost rental scheme since it was announced by the Government in 2014 and again in 2016;

— that rents have increased by 26 per cent since 2016, with average rents at €1,402 per month and €2,000 per month in Dublin;

— that in Dublin, house prices have increased by 12 per cent since 2016 with average prices now at €373,248;

— that Economic and Social Research Institute research shows that 70 per cent of private renters and mortgaged households in the lowest quarter of the income distribution have high housing costs; and

—that during four years of a Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Confidence and Supply Arrangement, not a single affordable home to rent or buy was delivered through any central Government scheme;

and calls on the Government to introduce an affordable housing scheme that:

— delivers mixed income and mixed tenure public housing developments on public land lead by local authorities, approved housing bodies and community land trusts;

— has a minimum target of 100,000 public homes to meet social and affordable need over five years;

— determines tenure mix in accordance with local need, combining social rental, affordable rental and affordable leasehold purchase;

— ensures that no land will be sold or transferred out of public ownership for the purpose of delivering public housing;

— defines housing affordability as no more than 30 per cent of net disposable income;

— is available to households whose gross incomes are below €75,000 for a couple and below €50,000 for a single person;

— delivers affordable homes to buy for €230,000 or less in cities and surrounding commuter belts;

— delivers affordable homes to buy for €220,000 or less in non-urban centres and non-commuter belt areas;

— delivers affordable cost rental homes to rent between €700 and €900 per month;

— ensures flexibility in the final entry level rents and purchase price to take account of variations in regional rental and purchase markets, with a particular emphasis on lower price markets in predominantly rural areas and smaller towns;

— is consistent with the National Planning Framework requirements for urban densification and mixed-use, mid-rise and higher-density master planning by the local authority; and

— is financed through a combination of capital expenditure, serviced sites fund, capital advanced loan facilities and long-term low interest public borrowing from sources, including the Housing Finance Agency, the European Investment Bank and credit unions.

Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“acknowledges the extensive range of measures included in the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future, building on the initiatives already undertaken and in progress, which will be brought forward to support individuals and families to access affordable housing and, in particular, notes that:

— this Government has confirmed its overarching housing policy principle that everybody should have access to good-quality housing to purchase or rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard, and located close to essential services, offering a high quality of life;

— this Government believes that the provision of more affordable housing has a profound benefit socially and economically, and that the State has a fundamental role in enabling the delivery of new homes and ensuring that best use is made of existing stock;

— building on the progress made to date, this Government is also committed to supporting the delivery of homes through the Serviced Site Fund, the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund, the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan and the Help to Buy scheme;

— under the Serviced Site Fund, local authorities have indicated they will deliver 3,200 new affordable homes across 35 projects already approved;

— consistent with the National Planning Framework and the Building Control Reform agenda, this Government is committed to the delivery of quality homes and a planning

system that delivers homes in a strategic manner to meet the demands of a modern society; and

— the Residential Tenancies Board published a report in June 2019, prepared by the Economic and Social Research Institute, which shows that Rent Pressure Zones are having a moderating effect on rent price inflation to the magnitude of 2-3 per cent per annum; and

further notes the Government’s intention to:

— embed affordability at the heart of Ireland’s housing system;

— prioritise the increased supply of social and affordable homes;

— finalise and open a State-backed affordable home purchase scheme to promote home ownership for households that would otherwise be frozen out of the market;

— increase the social housing stock by more than 50,000 homes, with an emphasis on new builds, to ensure that those in the greatest need can access quality housing and to take pressure off other areas of the housing system thus ensuring more affordable supply for first-time buyers and renters;

— create the conditions for the delivery of the greatest number of affordable homes possible, including setting a target for the delivery of affordable homes over the lifetime of the Government, to be available for qualifying purchasers as a matter of priority;

— accelerate delivery of affordable homes by local authorities under the €310 million Serviced Sites Fund, to deliver 6,200 new affordable homes and expand the projects under the Fund and examine opportunities to expand the scope and potential of the Fund;

— ensure that local authorities remain central to delivering public social and affordable housing working with approved housing bodies, the Land Development Agency (LDA) and other state and private sector partners;

— work with the private sector, through the planning and regulatory regimes, to ensure that an appropriate mix and type of housing is provided nationally and locally;

— monitor and work to address, with key stakeholders and industry, issues arising in the area of construction costs, viability and productivity, particularly against a background of Covid-19 and Brexit;

— improve the supply and affordability of quality rental accommodation and the security of tenure for renters;

— recognise the need to re-invigorate our towns, put in place a new scheme to provide seed capital to local authorities to provide affordable serviced sites in towns and villages to allow individuals and families build homes;

— retain and expand the Help to Buy scheme for new properties and self-build properties;

— expand the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan;

— expand Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to encompass affordable as well as social housing;

— roll out the cost rental model for the delivery of housing that creates affordability for tenants and a sustainable model for the financing, construction and management of homes;

— complete the audit of State lands, identifying land banks in public ownership that are suitable for housing and other purposes;

— mandate the LDA to work with local authorities, State agencies and other stakeholders to develop masterplans for strategic sites; and

— avoid over-concentration of particular housing types in areas, by requiring local authorities to complete Housing Need Demand Assessments to inform the delivery of an appropriate mix of housing typologies to cater for the needs of disparate household types and sizes."

- (Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government)

An Ceann Comhairle

I must now deal with a postponed division relating to the motion regarding affordable housing. On Tuesday, 7 July 2020, on the question that the amendment to the motion be agreed to, a division was claimed and in accordance with Standing Order 80(2), that division must be taken now.

Amendment put:

The Dáil divided: Tá, 80; Níl, 60; Staon, 0.

Tá

Berry, Cathal.
Brophy, Colm.
Browne, James.
Bruton, Richard.
Burke, Colm.
Burke, Peter.
Butler, Mary.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Cannon, Ciarán.
Carey, Joe.
Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
Chambers, Jack.
Collins, Niall.
Costello, Patrick.
Coveney, Simon.
Cowen, Barry.
Crowe, Cathal.
Devlin, Cormac.
Dillon, Alan.
Donnelly, Stephen.
Duffy, Francis Noel.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Farrell, Alan.
Feighan, Frankie.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flaherty, Joe.
Flanagan, Charles.
Fleming, Sean.
Foley, Norma.
Griffin, Brendan.
Harris, Simon.
Haughey, Seán.
Heydon, Martin.
Higgins, Emer.
Hourigan, Neasa.
Humphreys, Heather.
Kehoe, Paul.
Lahart, John.
Leddin, Brian.
Lowry, Michael.
MacSharry, Marc.
Madigan, Josepha.
Martin, Catherine.
Matthews, Steven.
McAuliffe, Paul.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McEntee, Helen.
McGrath, Michael.
McHugh, Joe.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Murphy, Verona.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Brien, Joe.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Connor, James.
O'Donnell, Kieran.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
O'Gorman, Roderic.
O'Sullivan, Christopher.
O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Phelan, John Paul.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Richmond, Neale.
Ring, Michael.
Ryan, Eamon.
Shanahan, Matt.
Smith, Brendan.
Smyth, Niamh.
Smyth, Ossian.
Stanton, David.
Troy, Robert.
Varadkar, Leo.

Níl

Andrews, Chris.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Browne, Martin.
Buckley, Pat.
Cairns, Holly.
Carthy, Matt.
Clarke, Sorca.
Collins, Joan.
Collins, Michael.
Connolly, Catherine.
Conway-Walsh, Rose.
Cronin, Réada.
Crowe, Seán.
Cullinane, David.
Daly, Pa.
Donnelly, Paul.
Ellis, Dessie.
Farrell, Mairéad.
Fitzmaurice, Michael.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Gannon, Gary.
Gould, Thomas.
Guirke, Johnny.
Harkin, Marian.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kelly, Alan.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Kerrane, Claire.
Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
McGrath, Mattie.
McNamara, Michael.
Mitchell, Denise.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Catherine.
Murphy, Paul.
Mythen, Johnny.
Nolan, Carol.
O'Callaghan, Cian.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Rourke, Darren.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Ryan, Patricia.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Duncan.
Stanley, Brian.
Tóibín, Peadar.
Tully, Pauline.
Ward, Mark.
Whitmore, Jennifer.
Wynne, Violet-Anne.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Brendan Griffin and Dara Calleary; Níl, Deputies Denise Mitchell and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn.

Amendment declared carried.

Question put: : "That the motion, as amended, be agreed to."

The Dáil divided: Tá, 82; Níl, 61; Staon, 0.

Tá

Berry, Cathal.
Brophy, Colm.
Browne, James.
Bruton, Richard.
Burke, Colm.
Burke, Peter.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Cannon, Ciarán.
Carey, Joe.
Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
Chambers, Jack.
Collins, Niall.
Costello, Patrick.
Coveney, Simon.
Cowen, Barry.
Crowe, Cathal.
Devlin, Cormac.
Dillon, Alan.
Donnelly, Stephen.
Duffy, Francis Noel.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Farrell, Alan.
Feighan, Frankie.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flaherty, Joe.
Flanagan, Charles.
Fleming, Sean.
Foley, Norma.
Griffin, Brendan.
Harris, Simon.
Haughey, Seán.
Heydon, Martin.
Higgins, Emer.
Hourigan, Neasa.
Humphreys, Heather.
Kehoe, Paul.
Lahart, John.
Leddin, Brian.
Lowry, Michael.
MacSharry, Marc.
Madigan, Josepha.
Martin, Catherine.
Matthews, Steven.
McAuliffe, Paul.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McEntee, Helen.
McGrath, Michael.
McHugh, Joe.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Murphy, Verona.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Noonan, Malcolm.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Brien, Joe.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Connor, James.
O'Donnell, Kieran.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
O'Gorman, Roderic.
O'Sullivan, Christopher.
O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Phelan, John Paul.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Richmond, Neale.
Ring, Michael.
Ryan, Eamon.
Shanahan, Matt.
Smith, Brendan.
Smyth, Niamh.
Smyth, Ossian.
Stanton, David.
Troy, Robert.
Varadkar, Leo.

Níl

Andrews, Chris.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Browne, Martin.
Buckley, Pat.
Cairns, Holly.
Carthy, Matt.
Clarke, Sorca.
Collins, Joan.
Collins, Michael.
Connolly, Catherine.
Conway-Walsh, Rose.
Cronin, Réada.
Crowe, Seán.
Cullinane, David.
Daly, Pa.
Doherty, Pearse.
Donnelly, Paul.
Ellis, Dessie.
Farrell, Mairéad.
Fitzmaurice, Michael.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Gannon, Gary.
Gould, Thomas.
Guirke, Johnny.
Harkin, Marian.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kelly, Alan.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Kerrane, Claire.
Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
McGrath, Mattie.
McNamara, Michael.
Mitchell, Denise.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Catherine.
Murphy, Paul.
Mythen, Johnny.
Nolan, Carol.
O'Callaghan, Cian.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Rourke, Darren.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Ryan, Patricia.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Duncan.
Stanley, Brian.
Tóibín, Peadar.
Tully, Pauline.
Ward, Mark.
Whitmore, Jennifer.
Wynne, Violet-Anne.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Brendan Griffin and Dara Calleary; Níl, Deputies Denise Mitchell and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn.

Question declared carried.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 9 Jul 2020