I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, to the House.
Housing (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages
Sections 1 and 2 agreed to.
Title agreed to.
Bill reported without amendment and received for final consideration.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
I thank the Senators for their consideration of the Bill and their contributions on Second Stage. I thank them for taking us through the Final Stages.
As I explained previously, the Housing (Amendment) Bill 2013 is a technical Bill making minor changes to section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 so that we can effectively implement a new and more harmonised system of local authority rents. There are two amendments to section 31 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, with the first remedying an error in the text of section 31(5)(a) that prevents the provisions of section 31 from being brought into operation in a logical and effective sequence. This will ensure that a clear statutory basis exists for housing authorities to charge rent for dwellings during the transition from the existing rents regime to the new rents system.
The second amendment deletes from section 31(6) references to rent-setting criteria that conflict with the rent system where charges are determined largely on the basis of household composition and income. I am fully in favour of local authority rents being linked to household income and I therefore propose to delete from the enactment references to specific rent-setting criteria other than income.
There will be a number of housing Bills coming before the House in the autumn and the next Bill will provide, among other elements, a new housing assistance payments scheme administered by housing authorities, which will replace rent supplement in the case of households with a long-term housing need. That will be a much more substantial piece of legislation than what we are dealing with today. I thank the Senators for their speedy implementation of the detail of the legislation and their contributions.
I will briefly reiterate my call to the Minister of State on Second Stage to come before us for a more complete debate on the future of social housing. I know this is a minor, technical Bill but there are a number of issues which Members would like to discuss, particularly the supply of social housing, the Government's intentions in the treatment of social housing and, perhaps, a closer examination of the Government's housing policy statement and what it means for the future of social housing. It is a complex issue but we would be obliged if the Minister of State could return when we have more of an opportunity to discuss the broader issues rather than minor and technical matters.
I will take this opportunity, as the Leader suggested this morning, to bend the Minister of State's ear on something that is not her direct realm but which is important to the area of housing. It relates to the access of parents to housing where they are not the sole guardians of a child. The principle in the past has been that even though parents are separated or were never together, the non-principal carer will have access to appropriate housing to enable him or her to be able to have a full relationship with the child. Unfortunately, it has transpired in the middle of a recession that this is not occurring. If a child has a home with one parent, he or she is deemed to be suitably housed. That is the approach taken by the local authorities. I am concerned about that because it takes away from the right of the child to have a full family life with both parents and the right of the parent to have a full family life with that child. I ask the Minister of State to consider making a directive to local authorities that the right of families to a full family life needs to taken into consideration in allocation policies.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As she stated, this is a technical Bill but an important one in that it makes the way local authorities charge tenants rent more transparent. I very much welcome that. I agree with Senator Hayden's call for a broader discussion about the Government's housing strategy and in particular social housing policy and an update regarding ghost estates. I know that significant progress has been made in this regard but there are still major difficulties. Like Senator Hayden, I would welcome a broader debate on housing. I welcome this Bill.
I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome the Bill, which brings fairness and a much clearer understanding of the rent situation. A situation pertained where rents varied from county to county and local authority to local authority. It makes total sense that rents would be assessed solely on income so I very much welcome that provision.
I join with my two colleagues in asking the Minister of State to facilitate a much wider debate on social housing. Every local authority is struggling with the size of the housing lists and the various options the Government is looking at. We would all like to have an input into that and get our suggestions on the record regarding the best way to proceed with the many challenges facing the Minister of State in her Ministry.
Question put and agreed to.
Sitting suspended at 4.35 p.m. and resumed at 4.45 p.m.