Eoin Ó Broin
Question:63. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the additional measures he plans to introduce in 2024 to address the deepening homelessness crisis. [7243/24]
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Homeless Accommodation
As the Minister will be aware, the December homeless figures showed a record 13,318 people, including 3,962 children, in emergency accommodation funded by his Department. That is a 20% increase in family homelessness on the previous year but there was a month-on-month increase in single-person homelessness and pensioner homelessness. While I welcome the fact there was a slight decrease in family homelessness month on month, as the Minister will be aware, homeless charities have said that is more than like the seasonal dip and they are worried homelessness will continue to increase. Can the Minister outline what new measures he will take this year to finally get this homelessness crisis under control?
As the Deputy will be aware, supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key priority for me and the Government. Critical to supporting households to exit homelessness is increasing supply. Thankfully, we are seeing supply increase substantially. At the end of quarter 1, we will have our social housing and affordable numbers for 2023 which I predict will show an increase on the previous year.
Record State investment of more than €5 billion has been made available this year to support the largest State home building programme ever, including 9,300 new build homes - that is just the new-build piece. The Government has also approved the continuation of the tenant in situ scheme, which is an important preventative measure. It has been very successful. Last year, we set out a minimum target of 1,500. I do not have the final figure on that but I can tell the House it is between 1,700 and 1,800 of concluded sales - fully closed. There are others going through the process.
I have approved, through local authorities, an additional 1,500 acquisitions where a landlord issued a notice of termination. The scheme is working and I want to ensure that continues. Initial issues with it in some local authorities have certainly been ironed out.
In relation to homelessness itself, we have a budget this year of €242 million for the delivery of homeless services. The funding will support households experiencing homelessness with emergency accommodation and wrap-around support. Anyone who finds himself or herself in homelessness will be supported by the State in emergency accommodation. We want to ensure that they are staying less time there and exiting into permanent secure housing. I will come back in the supplementary with the number of exits and preventions that had last year, which are increasing. We saw a slight decrease in December overall but we have a lot more work to do in that space, particularly around ensuring that the allocations to homeless individuals and families increase into the new social housing that I expect to see this year.
When the December figures were published, Simon Communities stated that homelessness is poised to increase in the coming months. They would know because they are on the front line.
The problem is there is a growing gap between the answers that the Minister gives to these questions on the floor of the Dáil and the reality for many thousands of adults and children who are experiencing homelessness. Since Deputy O'Brien has been Minister, homelessness has gone up a shocking 61%. Child homelessness has increased by 74%. I do not accept, even if all of the actions that the Minister has outlined come to pass, that this, in and of itself, will start to have homeless numbers reduce. Will the Minister do anything new or different this year to last year to address this escalating crisis? Even if the Minister meets his 9,100 new build social housing target for last year, homelessness increased by 20% over the past year. Moreover, increasing social housing output this year by an extra 200 units to 9,300 will not tackle this. Will the Minister do anything different or will homeless continue to rise month on month under his watch?
Supply, I think everyone agrees, is key. If one looks at where we have come from when this Government came into office and since Housing for All, we have exceeded our overall housing delivery targets, not only on social housing but across the board. We need to do that. We need to ensure that we have a stable private rental sector as well.
There are many reasons people fall into homelessness. I work directly with the Simon Communities. I, myself, chair the national homeless action committee and I deal with all the stakeholders. I commend them on the work that they do.
It is a complex issue, however. I noted with interest the Deputy's remarks about eradicating homelessness for over 55s. Approximately 42% of people in homeless emergency accommodation here in Dublin, which is where homelessness predominates, do not have an entitlement to social housing.
Not true.
It is correct.
That is not true.
I ask Deputy Ó Broin to not interrupt me and let me answer the question. The Deputy can come back in.
That is correct. Effectively, what one needs is different supports for different people. We have new arrivals. We have people coming into homelessness due to family break-up, not only through the private rental sector.
I note, by the way, that the Deputy had a motion that he had tabled as a matter of urgency in relation to supports that we brought in to ensure that we were supporting and ensuring that good landlords stayed in the market. Sinn Féin withdrew the motion calling for that abolition and brought in a motion in relation to RTÉ funding instead.
The homeless figures:
make grim reading with no progress made in terms of stemming the flow of families presenting as homeless or moving people out of emergency accommodation into long term housing. Consistent increases in the overall homelessness numbers over the past five years despite regular announcements of plans and strategies have destroyed confidence in the ability of the political system to deliver.
Those are not my words. Those are the Minister's words in 2018.
It is not the case that more than 40% of people in emergency accommodation to not have an entitlement to social housing. The facts of the matter are 40% do not have a social housing application at the point at which they become homeless.
But the majority of those people, and this is directly from the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, go on to apply and get successfully accepted as having a social housing need. The Minister is deliberately misleading the House to distract from the fact that as long as he has been Minister, homelessness continues to rise. What did he say when Eoghan Murphy was raising homelessness? He said "You can't really blame citizens for feeling disenchanted with the political system that continually fails on an issue that, to most people, is easy to fix." Yet here he says it is complex. He is responsible for record levels of homelessness. Is he going to do anything different this year to tackle a problem that he, since taking office, has made worse?
First, Deputy Ó Broin is absolutely incorrect about social housing entitlements but that never gets in the way of him making any remarks in here.
The Minister is misleading the House and he will have to correct the record.
Stop interrupting, Eoin. I have just started. Let me answer.
Through the Chair.
It is the second time he has done it. I am just saying.
Yes. Well. Perhaps give the Chair a chance.
Sorry.
You should not be allowed mislead the House, Minister.
Well that is a charge that the Deputy has made here that he should withdraw. A number of weeks ago, Deputy Ó Laoghaire made a charge to this House that I had misled the Dáil when I put facts on the record. I asked the Deputy's colleague to write to me and to the Ceann Comhairle to outline exactly what was incorrect and I am still awaiting a letter from Sinn Féin.
Stick to the question. What is the Minister going to do about record homelessness?
Deputy-----
I am still awaiting a letter from you.
What are you going to do about record homelessness? This is not a laughing matter, Minister.
Deputy. That is unacceptable.
I am laughing at you, Eoin.
Smirking at such an important issue.
Both Minister and Deputy are completely ignoring the Chair. Thirteen seconds remain to answer the question.
Apologies, Chair.
I have never ignored the Chair’s ruling. The Deputy has continually interrupted me.
If I could answer in this regard, one could look at last year and those who exited emergency accommodation. Some 2,815 adults exited emergency accommodation by way of a tenancy being created and over 4,000 adults were prevented from entering emergency accommodation. One could look at some other counties around the country on a 12-month basis. Kildare is down by 29%; Wicklow by 21%; Longford by 36%; Limerick by 7%; and Monaghan is down by 30%. There is an acute issue in Dublin that we are committed to dealing with. We are increasing housing supply, as the Deputy knows, but he likes to deny that progress. He cannot deny that progress, however.
We are way over. I have allowed extra time.
Housing Provision
Eoin Ó Broin
Question:64. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of affordable homes delivered in 2023 via the affordable housing fund, the cost rental equity loan and the Land Development Agency's Project Tosaigh; and his views on the rising rents and house prices under these schemes. [7244/24]
Is the Minister in a position yet to tell us about the final delivery of social new build and affordable housing under the three affordable housing schemes were for last year? If not, can he indicate if he believes the targets set out in his housing plan will be met on those four crucial schemes?
As the Deputy is aware, affordability is at the heart of Housing for All. Since its launch, over 3,800 affordable homes have been delivered, supported by the affordable housing fund, the cost rental equity loan, Project Tosaigh and the first home scheme. This momentum will continue as the pipeline of affordable housing delivery is developed and expanded by our delivery partners, including local authorities, the approved housing bodies, the LDA, and the first home scheme. Data for affordable housing delivery is published on a quarterly basis, similar to social housing delivery. This data is published up to the third quarter of 2023 and is available on my Department's website.
We had very strong delivery in the last quarter as we did in the previous year. Local authorities are in the process of systematically collating information on delivery of social, affordable purchase and cost rental homes in their administrative areas, including returns for AHBs and the LDA, for the fourth quarter of 2023. This data is currently being verified. I sought an update yesterday. Not all the data is in but when it is it will be verified. I expect that the Department will be in a position to report on delivery of affordable and social housing for 2023 by the end of quarter 1, as we have done before.
The affordable housing fund enables local authorities to make homes available on a shared equity basis, with purchase prices at least 15% below market rates. Cost rental, because of the changes we made on the cost rental equity loan, has seen a substantial increase in applications and in delivery. We are awaiting all the returns from the 31 local authorities or AHB partners. When we have them and verified, we will publish them. I expect they will show a significant increase on the previous year. I do not even have preliminary data so I do not want to be accused of misleading the House again. But the Deputy can be assured that when they are verified that we will publish them and I am sure the Deputy will have his views on them at the appropriate time.
In fact the figures for delivery under the genuine affordable housing schemes are much worse than the number the Minister quoted here. In his first year as Minister, no affordable purchase homes were delivered and only 65 cost-rental homes. In 2022, there were only 323 genuinely affordable homes to purchase delivered and just under 700 cost-rental homes. The Minister is right that we do not have the full data yet and I look forward to seeing it but by the end of the third quarter, there were only 159 affordable purchase homes and only 56 cost rental, although, in fairness, the LDA brought on stream several hundred cost rentals by the end of the year and I assume they will be in the numbers.
The problem is not only are the Minister’s targets too low but he is missing them. I suspect, and we will debate this when we get the final figures, that he will not have met his figures for affordable purchase or affordable cost rental through AHBs or the Land Development Agency at the end of this year. That will be the third year as Minister that he has missed those crucial targets. Hiding behind first home scheme approvals to massage the figures does not get away from the fact that the Minister is not delivering.
No one is massaging figures at all. Let me give exact figures as I regularly do. Take the affordable housing fund. We have approved 4,300 affordable purchase homes through that fund across 21 local authorities, involving over €370 million in grant aid. I will give just three examples. Cois Farraige in Blackrock, County Louth, where there are three-bedroom homes from €305,000. In Baltinglass, County Wicklow, which I had the pleasure of visiting, its really good multi-tenure scheme has three-bedroom homes from €260,000. Cluain Ard, Cobh, County Cork has two- and three-bedroom homes from €215,000. People are buying these homes now. It is happening. The first home shared equity is a really important support. There have been over 8,300 registrations for that scheme. Even though the Deputy continually rails against it, the public is engaging with it. People who are renting or living with their folks are now able to buy their home with direct assistance from the State, including using things like the help-to-buy grant, €30,000 of their own tax back in their pocket, which Sinn Féin has said it will abolish.
The problem is that the Minister keeps missing his target. For example, he did not meet his affordable purchase or cost-rental targets last year. He will not meet them this year. On the first homes scheme, which the Minister is correct that I oppose, the Minister missed his targets by 50% last year and by even more the year before. But also, increasingly the homes he is talking about are not affordable. I have the details of affordable housing fund purchases in my constituency. The full price after the shared equity has to be paid back, is €407,000 to €435,000. That is the Minister’s definition of affordable homes. In fact, you have to have an income of between €85,000 and €100,000 to get into one of these properties. If you look at the LDA’s cost rental, again in my own constituency, in City West, the rents are between €1,400 and €1,800 for a one-bedroom to a three-bedroom home. You would need a gross salary of between €75,000 to €100,000 to be eligible for those. Increasingly, the very groups of people for whom affordable purchase and affordable rental were designed are locked out. The Minister is not delivering enough. It is too expensive. Again, there is more failure to deliver.
Again the Deputy will try to use the figures for his own narrative. The equity that the local authorities hold on behalf of the State does not have to be paid back and no interest is charged on that either.
It is paid back in the end.
At the very end.
Either by their children, as a penalty, or when they sell. They pay the full price.
A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----
Deputy, please.
Also, this Government legislated for and brought forward cost rental in the Affordable Housing Act and it has changed the cost rental equity loan to ensure more and more cost rental properties are being delivered. This did not exist before this Government came in either. They are a minimum of 25% below market and provide secure tenure for people. They are extremely popular for people out there. Do not interrupt again.
And very unaffordable.
Deputy, please.
Look.
Deputy please, you are eating into the Minister’s time.
Every cost-rental scheme has been substantially oversubscribed. We have increased the net income limits. The Deputy quoted gross income limits. The net income limits for Dublin are €66,000 and €59,000 in the rest of the country. It is an extremely popular form of tenure that is actually working. I know that disappoints the Deputy.
Septic Tanks
Mattie McGrath
Question:65. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will expand the scope of the septic tank grants from local authorities to cover larger geographical areas in order for more rural homeowners to avail of it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7351/24]
Will the Minister of State extend the scope of scheme of sceptic tanks for local authorities? It was announced to great fanfare last September that the grant would be extended. Can the Minister of State expand on this and on the geographical areas where the scheme can be operated and the grant availed of?
Some 165,000 households use septic tanks as their wastewater treatment. The contamination and potential for contamination of groundwater in household wells can be very significant for human health and the environment, particularly for vulnerable groups such as infants, pregnant women and elderly people and people with underlying health conditions, as well as the risk of phosphorous, nitrogen potential sources of pollution. It is a very serious issue across the country given the number of systems in place in individual households.
The policy of providing grant funding for remedial work on septic tanks arises from the need to address damage being done to water quality in sensitive areas, in particular.
There are three grant schemes available to householders relating to domestic wastewater treatment systems, commonly known as septic tank grants. The purpose of these grants is to incentivise householders to carry out works to defective septic tanks. The grants are focused on the areas of greatest environmental priority to protect human health and the environment, and are not general in application.
Householders can avail of the grants if their domestic wastewater treatment system has failed an inspection under the national inspection plan and an advisory notice has been issued or if the septic tank is located in either a prioritised area for action or a high-status objective catchment area, as identified in the river basin management plan.
I can confirm that, following extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the rural water sector, my Department completed a review of the terms and conditions of the three grants. As a result of this review and the recommendations made, in November 2023 the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced significant improvements to the grants available. The changes, which came into effect on 1 January 2024, are an increase in the maximum grant amount available to €12,000, up from €5,000, and removal of the requirement to have had the septic tank registered in 2013. The grants continue to be available only in circumstances relating to risks to water quality or human health or both and we have no plans to make further changes. Full details of the grants can be found on the Department's website.
Therein lies the problem. The Department increased the grant from €5,000 to a maximum of €12,000 and they do not have to be registered but getting a grant is the issue. I had a lady last week on to my office. She was in a bad way with her septic tank, rang the county council and was told she was not in the right geographical area. That is ridiculous.
I question the Minister of State's figure of 160,000 tanks. I would say it is double or treble that. I live in the country and work in that area and I know every house in the country has to have a septic tank because there is no sewerage. Even many towns and villages do not have the sewerage connections. I question that figure strongly.
The geographical areas have to be expanded. To great fanfare the increase in the funding was announced last November but if people are not eligible to get it, it sticks in their craws. There is spin by Government in relation to many issues. There are big announcements but you do not even have to go into the fine print to see there are huge swathes of the country where you cannot apply for this funding. They have not been inspected by the council. Will the Minister of State give an answer on how many inspections have taken place in each county in the years since it came in? I believe it is very few.
I can provide the Deputy with a table of inspections per county. I do not have it to hand. These are important grants. There are three available. The national inspection grant is available to householders who failed an inspection carried out by a local authority under the national inspection plan and received an advisory notice. The priority area for action grant is available to a householder where the domestic wastewater system is situated in a prioritised area for action as identified under the river basin plan. We will be expanding that with the new plan. The high-status objective catchment area grant is available to householders where the domestic wastewater treatment system is situated in high-status objective catchment areas, again as identified in the river basin management plan.
The figures I have come from the EPA and so are accurate. It is important that if a householder's system has failed, he or she should avail of these grants.
I do not accept the figures. Because they came from the EPA, they are gospel, but that agency produced a report recently about areas with no pollution and gave the whole county of Tipperary a clean bill of health, when there are 30 plants - I visited one in my village last week with about ten officials from Irish Water - spewing raw sewage. The figures are thwarted, anti-farmers and pro-local authorities. They are not honest, fair or correct. The Minister of State needs to look into that seriously. Neither I nor anybody in this House believes there are only 160,000 septic tanks in the country. That is far off the mark.
The money announced for the grant scheme is welcome but you cannot get it. The lady who rang me was told by the council it was sorry but she was not in the area the grant applies to. There are vast swathes of the country like that. It is lovely to announce the big scheme. It looks and sounds grand and is a good PR spin but if people ring up about a problem with their tank that will cost €10,000 or even €20,000 for some of the new percolation systems that have been put in, they have a tough situation. It you are in a town or city that is connected, you are fine, but it is an onerous task. All householders I know want to keep their septic tanks right, do not want pollution or odours and do their best to maintain them.
I agree wholeheartedly. We will be launching the new water action plan, the third cycle of the river basin management plan. Within that we intend to expand significantly the number of areas for action and high-status objective areas. That will give added support to householders in those catchments. This comes about because of the deteriorating quality of our water and catchments. The action plan will envisage and anticipate that we will significantly ramp up the level of inspections and actions to deal with these. They have a significant impact on human health and the environment.
Could I get the figures that have been inspected?
The expansion of the areas will give the opportunity for more householders to avail of these grants.