Adjournment Debate. - Housing Crisis. – Dáil Éireann (28th Dáil) – Wednesday, 28 Mar 2001

Adjournment Debate. - Housing Crisis.

Mr. Durkan

I am thankful for the opportunity to once again raise the appalling housing situation as it affects my constituency and the entire eastern region.

The situation has gone from bad to worse. Over the past three years, I have raised this issue in this House on numerous occasions. I will once again outline the sequence of events. In my constituency 2,500 families are on the local authority housing list. Another 2,000 families who have an income in excess of that which would qualify them for a shared-ownership local authority loan cannot buy a house. These people, in turn, are being forced on to the local authority housing list and have no chance ever of getting a house under that regime and will not have a chance of buying a house in the foreseeable future. There are young couples who cannot marry because they cannot buy a house. They are unable to live together as a normal family. In many cases the single mother of a child must live in separate accommodation from her boyfriend or husband who, in some instances, must live with his parents.

There is now almost utter despair among people. I make a serious request to the Minister tonight to declare a housing emergency. Nothing will happen unless something serious is done. We are told there is insufficient land available. We are told that the process is too slow and that there are not sufficient planners to process applications and so on. These issues can be overcome because if the local authorities do not have the necessary wherewithal, they can hire it from outside as many authorities have done from time to time.

I point to the seriousness of what is taking place at present. Families of people who settled in the eastern region 30 years ago, the second generation, are now homeless. These people have no chance of buying a house and their options are very limited. They can move 60, 70 or 100 miles down the country. They can commute to their jobs on a daily basis or they can emigrate. These are the stark options they now have. In regard to the availability of land in this city and county and the entire eastern region, one does not have to be an expert to drive around and see the countless available sites, some of which are lying dormant and vacant for years. It is an absolute scandal that so many people have been living in such awful housing conditions and in such tremendous need for so long with so little effort being made to address their problem.

I acknowledge that my local authority and surrounding local authorities have made an effort in recent times to come up with some plans. I do not agree with the plans in some instances because they would intensify development to the extent that could well create slums 30 or 40 years down the road. However, they are three years too late because the third generation of these plans should now be coming to fruition, which is not the case. The sad fact is that the local authorities are now talking about building hostels. The only reason hostels were used was that there was nothing else available. Why not build houses? Why not give the people a reasonably decent chance to get a start in life and live a normal life? Why not provide houses and spend time coming up with emergency measures? I appeal to the Minister in this regard. I note that neither the Minister for the Environment and Local Government or the Ministers of State are present. That is no reflection on the very capable Minister sitting opposite, but particular Departments have responsibilities and their Ministers or Ministers of State should be available to come to this House for the Adjournment Debate.

Mr. Martin

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. My colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and urban renewal is unable to be here to respond to this question. He asked me to do so on his behalf, which I am pleased to do.

I assure the House that the Government is absolutely committed to maximising housing supply and protecting the interests of first time house buyers. The Government's publication of Action on Housing last June was the third in a series of major initiatives aimed at relieving the pressures in the housing market primarily by the delivery of additional housing supply. These initiatives include the serviced land initiative, which was introduced at the end of 1997. This has been extended over the past three years by the provision of additional funding and the approval of new schemes. The initiative will provide some 167,000 additional housing sites. There will be the use of strategic development zones to ensure the early development of large-scale residential developments, with a levy for non-development within SDZs within a specified time frame. Project offices will be developed to drive key infrastructural projects, together with targeted investment in key water, sewerage and non-national roads infrastructure. There will be measures to increase the capacity of the construction industry, in particular to address shortages of professional and skilled workers. A public transport standing committee will be established to integrate public transport provision with new housing development.

The Government's measures are having the desired effect. Last year was the sixth consecutive year of record housing output, with completions just below 50,000 units. Moreover, the prospects for a continued high level of housing output are positive with approximately 88,000 housing units receiving a final grant of permission from the local authority and An Bord Pleanála, an increase of approximately 15% on 1999. The stock of serviced building land is also positive, with the availability of approximately 10,800 hectares of ser viced land which has the capacity to provide more than 263,000 housing units.

The effects of this increased output are reflected in moderating house price trends. The most recent house price figures available provide strong evidence of a moderation in the rate of house price increase, particularly in new house prices with annual increases in the 10%-14% range compared with a peak of 42% in early 1998. It is widely accepted that the Government's actions have been critical in achieving house price moderation. There is also firm evidence that first time buyers are gaining an increasing share of the new housing market.

The Government has also taken a range of measures to ensure that our social housing needs are met. We have provided an increased level of capital funding for the local authority housing programme which is more than 40% greater than last year. Overall funding provided for the local authority housing programme will have more than doubled since the Government came into office in 1997.

The Government has also introduced a four year multi-annual local authority housing programme for the period 2000-03. The multi-annual approach allows for greater forward planning and efficiencies of scale in delivering the increased local authority housing targets. At this stage we expect that local authorities will have completions this year of at least 5,000 units and that commencements of new projects will exceed 7,000 units.

Funding is committed for 41,500 starts in the local authority housing programme over the period of the national development plan. This indicates the Government's commitment to increasing momentum in the programme to respond to rising need. We have urged local authorities to front-load their construction programmes to meet existing demand more quickly. Uniquely, they have carte blanche to start as many projects as they possibly can. Local authorities know that the necessary funding for the capital programme is in place and there is no impediment on this front. In 1997 the number of house starts allocated to local authorities was 3,500. The figure has now been virtually doubled.

While local authorities are the main providers of social housing, the voluntary housing sector is also playing an increasingly important role. The Government has increased the levels of assistance provided for the voluntary housing sector over the past two years and this has achieved a turnaround in the decline in activity which had been experienced in the sector since 1995. Output from the sector reached almost 1,000 units last year, up 64% on 1999. The Government is committed to further developing the voluntary housing sector and our target is for the sector to achieve an output of 4,000 units per annum by the end of the national development plan.

One of the most significant recent developments regarding housing supply was the introduction of the Planning and Development Act last year. This Act introduced fundamental changes in the way local authorities plan and provide for housing. It requires local authorities to prepare housing strategies by the end of July this year which must identify the overall need for housing within the area covered by the strategy, including the need for social and affordable housing. Local authorities will be able to reserve up to 20% of residentially zoned land to meet the identified needs for social and affordable housing. The provisions of the Planning and Development Act will be of significant benefit to first time house seekers generally.

The priority afforded by the Government to the housing area and the direction and force of Government policies are widely acknowledged as correct. We will continue to give priority to ensuring higher housing output to meet the needs of our growing population and, in particular, the needs of the most vulnerable groups. I am sure the Deputy will agree that the evidence is, if one excuses the pun, concrete.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 28 Mar 2001