Micheál Martin
Ceist:1. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears last met. [3271/15]
Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed)
Cabinet Committee Meetings
Joe Higgins
Ceist:2. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears last met. [5466/15]
Gerry Adams
Ceist:3. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings of the Cabinet sub-committee on Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears held in the past six months. [12802/15]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:4. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-Committee on Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears last met. [20232/15]
Ruth Coppinger
Ceist:5. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet sub-committee on Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears last met. [21844/15]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together.
In September 2014, the Government made a number of changes to Cabinet committees during the establishment of the Cabinet committee on Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears. This committee has met six times to date on 29 September 2014, 8 October 2014, 11 November 2014, 19 January 2015, 30 March 2015 and 25 May 2015. It has met three times in the past six months.
The Taoiseach said that the Cabinet committee on Construction 2020, housing, planning and mortgage arrears met six times over the past 12 months. He might indicate whether he agrees that far greater frequency was required given that he had originally insisted that everything was in hand in respect of the housing crisis, especially in respect of housing supply and household debt.
The Taoiseach must accept that he was denying the facts until the figures reached crisis levels. There has been a 246% increase in the number of homeless families in Ireland. Over 1,000 children are in emergency accommodation in Dublin alone. We met with representatives of the Simon Community two months ago who were alarmed at the crisis in homelessness among children in particular and were very concerned about a potential fatality emerging in that area. Over the weekend we read that there has been a 30% increase in rental prices since 2010 in the Dublin area. I was on the streets of Dublin last week talking to people in various housing estates who told me of the extraordinary cost of rent which is prohibitive for many families and which is causing an enormous housing crisis.
The Cabinet committee is not doing its work. It is the driving force behind pretending to be doing something on housing but is missing its basic targets. In March, for example, the Government announced that 1,400 social housing units would be built by the end of this year. In recent weeks that target was shifted and the Government announced that 1,700 social housing units would be built by the end of 2017. In April we learned that there was a 60% fall-off in commencements of one-off dwellings in 2014 and a 25% drop in commencements generally. I ask the Taoiseach to explain what has happened and why the promises the Government made only a few months ago have already been abandoned.
Does the Taoiseach accept that the devastating impact of the mortgage arrears crisis is becoming worse by the day? The latest figures show a 50% increase in the number of enforcement cases being lodged with the courts. The Government's decision to allow the banks to control the entire process has been a complete failure, as has only been belatedly acknowledged by the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach. The Government has failed to take any measures at all to deal with that fundamental fact. The banks have taken State money and the low interest rates currently available but they continue to exploit mortgage customers in every way possible. Will the Government reverse that policy? Has the Cabinet committee considered giving an independent agency full control over this mounting crisis? At the heart of the flawed approach the Government took to the personal insolvency legislation and to mortgage arrears generally, in terms of any resolution mechanism, is the fact that the banks were in the driving seat and had a veto. For some reason, the Government has refused to dilute that veto.
Notwithstanding the fact that the aforementioned committee has met six times, the problem is becoming worse by the day. It is not just me saying that, organisations with long experience in the area of homelessness, like the Simon Community, Focus Ireland and others are saying that the homelessness crisis is appalling. It is alarming in terms of potential fatalities that could arise from the fact that so many children are living in hotel rooms in Dublin and across the country. Urgent action is required in that regard. The rent situation is crazy. The increases in rent and the decision to cap or reduce the rent allowance have had an appalling impact on low income families and reduced their capacity to secure suitable housing. In fact, the rent allowance is so out of touch with market rates that many cannot utilise it, with many landlords refusing to entertain it.
The aforementioned are key areas for the Cabinet committee which must meet far more frequently and must become far more effective in its interventions.
I am not supposed to provide details on meetings of Cabinet sub-committees at all but Deputy Martin has raised a number of issues-----
That is correct.
I did not ask for details-----
Let us be clear on this matter. It is important to put on the record that the basis of the procedure emanates from Article 28.4.3° of the Constitution which states, "The confidentiality of discussions at meetings of the Government shall be respected in all circumstances save only where the High Court determines that disclosure should be made in respect of a particular matter".
I have pointed out to Deputy Martin the number of times that the committee has actually met. In addition to that, every Monday morning the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, meets with a group in his Department and members of Dublin City Council to co-ordinate activities in this area.
This is really a supply issue because supply ground to a halt after the economic collapse. The Minister has already made it clear he is working on a package of measures to deal with housing, including the situation concerning rent. He has already pointed out that a tenants rights campaign began this week to ensure that people are fully aware of their rights. He has already made the decision, approved by Government, that 50% of allocations in the Dublin area will go to people who are on the housing list. As Deputy Martin is aware, Threshold operates a scheme under which persons in difficulty or about to get into difficulty in respect of rent can have their case examined on an individual basis with a view to preventing them from being removed from their current accommodation and ending up on the street or as occupants of hotel rooms or bed and breakfast establishments.
The real problem here is the supply of houses. That means that we cannot deal with this in a comprehensive fashion until builders are in a position to put blocks on concrete and houses on the ground. We have had discussions with the Dublin City Manager on a number of occasions as to how we can deal with this through emergency measures ranging from voids being completed, reconstruction of housing and emergency units being made available.
The question of mortgage arrears is an issue but it is important to say that according to the Central Bank's figures for quarter 1 of 2015, out of 757,175 private residential mortgage accounts for principal dwellings in Ireland, 86% are not in arrears. Some 104,693 mortgages are in arrears. This figure includes arrears of one day or more and is down from a peak of 143,000 family homes in arrears. Mortgage accounts in arrears over 90 days fell for the sixth consecutive quarter in quarter 1 of 2015, with the number in arrears for over 90 days at the end of March standing at 74,395, or 9.8% of the total. Some 37,933 of those mortgages are in very long term arrears of over 720 days and although the number of accounts in long term arrears continues to rise, the pace of increase has reduced significantly in recent quarters.
More recent figures from the Department of Finance on the six main banks were published last week and represent 90% of the market. These also show that the number of principal dwelling houses in mortgage arrears has fallen. The number has declined by almost 2,000 per month and by 23% over the year since April 2014, to stand at just over 82,000 at the end of April 2015. The number of mortgage accounts in arrears of over 90 days has continued to fall while those accounts in arrears of over 720 days remains steady, with a small rise of nine such accounts since March 2015. The number of accounts with no arrears has increased to just over 611,000. Central Bank figures also show an increase in the number of mortgage accounts on principal dwelling homes that have been restructured, with a year-on-year increase of just under 27% and a quarter on quarter increase of 2.3%. The figures show that 117,263 homes have had their mortgages restructured through a wide variety of restructuring options. It is worth noting that more than 85% of these are meeting their current restructuring arrangements.
In terms of the six main banks, the Department of Finance figures show an increase of almost 30% since April 2014 in restructured accounts, with the total now standing at just over 57,000. The Central Bank figures show that the number of buy-to-let mortgage accounts in arrears has also continued to fall. At the end of March 2015 there were 139,206 buy-to-let mortgages, of which a total of 33,475 or 24% are in arrears. This is a decrease of almost 15% since quarter 1 of 2014 and a quarterly decrease of over 2,000 accounts.
The number of accounts in arrears of more than 90 days has fallen by 5.9% quarter-on-quarter to just under 27,500. There was a marginal fall of five in the number of accounts in arrears of more than 720 days, bringing the total number to 15,361.
The Department of Finance figures also show a decrease in the number of buy-to-let mortgage accounts in arrears. Of 120,513 for the six main banks, 77% are not in arrears. Of the cases dealt with by the Insolvency Service of Ireland up to the first quarter of 2015, 328 personal solvency arrangements have been agreed. While the overall numbers remain low, there is a success rate there of 72.4%.
I wish to deal with the efficiency of this committee, which the Taoiseach has told us met six times in the past 12 months. It has responsibility for housing, planning and mortgage arrears. I listened keenly to the figures the Taoiseach produced earlier. If we judge it on results, almost four family homes are being repossessed or surrendered every day. According to Central Bank figures, 351 homes were repossessed in the first quarter of this year. Some 104,963 family homes are in mortgage arrears and that figure keeps growing. That is a real threat to the well-being, health and security of the families involved.
The Central Bank figures also reveal that when the banks agree to restructuring, they increasingly rely on arrears capitalisation and split mortgages, which I am sure the Taoiseach will agree are the least fair and the least sustainable. Of course the high variable mortgage rates contribute to the overall mortgage arrears crisis.
Last week the Government voted down what I considered to be a thoughtful Bill, the Central Bank (Mortgage Interest Rates) Bill 2015, tabled by Sinn Féin, which would have enabled the Central Bank to direct those banks bailed out by the State and theoretically owned by the citizens to lower or cap mortgage interest rates. I believe the Taoiseach has acknowledged that Irish home owners are paying over the odds compared with interest rates in other EU countries. The Taoiseach has said that the refusal of some banks to cut interest rates is a very serious manner and that it would not be tolerated. We are not happy, nor is it acceptable, that banks should be charging mortgage holders a much higher rate than the one at which they are able to borrow. We then measure what has been done about that.
I agree with what the Taoiseach said, although it is very obvious, that the real problem leading to homelessness is with the supply of houses. I believe Fr. McVerry said about a year ago that he saw different people now becoming homeless. Unfortunately, and there but for the grace of God go all of us, some people fall into homelessness because of addiction problems, mental health problems, physical health problems or problems in their own home. However, people are now falling into homelessness simply because they cannot afford to pay the rent, particularly if a family member becomes ill or if their social welfare, including rent supplement is cut. Last month a record 71 families in the capital here presented as homeless. There are 1,000 children in emergency accommodation. The average worker in Dublin now pays half their wages in rent.
Let us consider how the Minister deals with this. In April, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government published social housing targets for local authorities. That included €57 million for the constituency I am privileged to represent, which the Minister, Deputy Kelly, claimed would provide 778 housing units and reduce the current waiting list by 20%. However, he was working on outdated figures. At the end of March, 4,636 households were on the Louth waiting list and 20% of this would be 927, which is 139 more than the Minister claims his strategy would provide. The fact is that his housing strategy, in Louth anyway, is based on outdated waiting list figures collected by the Housing Agency more than two years ago in May 2013. They are not contemporary figures.
Does the Taoiseach agree that this is a serious flaw? Is it beyond the wit of someone in the Department to phone someone in Louth County Council for an up-to-date figure for the housing list? Of the 778 units announced for Louth, only 288, or 36%, will be provided under capital programmes and the majority will come from the private sector. Some 443 will come from the housing leasing initiative and 47 from the rental accommodation scheme. That will provide a major challenge for Louth County Council because reports indicate that there is already a major shortage of private housing for rent, with many private landlords preferring to rent or lease on the private market where more profit can be made.
This reliance on the private sector is totally at odds with the Minister's position six months ago when he said:
The privatisation of social housing should never have happened ... It was wrong, and it was more than wrong, it was simply unacceptable and we are going to change that.
If it was wrong six months ago, why is the Labour Party Minister responsible for Government policy on housing now almost entirely reliant on private housing markets to provide social housing in Louth?
Those are two issues when we consider the efficiency of this committee. I accept it has met six times in the past 12 months, but we have to measure it in terms of how it has been able to address, redress or reverse the crisis we have with private rent, mortgage distress and homelessness. I would like the Taoiseach to address some of those issues without getting into the business of the committee but just to give us some measurement as to how the Government strategically tackles these big issues.
This is a very difficult type of question to manage, as the Deputy will appreciate.
I appreciate that.
Strictly speaking, questions on policy issues pertaining to the various Cabinet committees should and must be directed to the relevant Minister. In other words we cannot through asking when the committee last met then have a general discussion about housing policy or any other policy for that matter. I try to allow a little bit of flexibility. However, I ask Members to remember that the Taoiseach's only obligation is to give the notice of the number of meetings that were actually held - full stop. I have to say that the Taoiseach has expanded, but I would appreciate applying the rules. That is why we have a backlog of questions to the Taoiseach. I am trying to get through them in order that other issues of a very important nature can be raised.
However, the Taoiseach said he wanted to give as much information as possible in answering questions.
I know all that. Unfortunately, I have the job of chairing the session.
Does he remember that from last week?
I know the Ceann Comhairle is drawing on all his years of experience here to define a very narrow line. It is a point of interest that Deputies want to ask questions and we can give them perhaps some facts that are distinct from a debate on Government policy on housing.
Perhaps, a Cheann Comhairle, I can give Deputy Adams some of those figures.
It is regrettable that anybody would lose a house. The key to preventing this is engagement with the lending institutions. Some cases end up in legal proceedings precisely because people may not have fully grasped what is necessary is terms of maintaining communication with a lending institution, be that a bank and so on. It is important people realise that the initiation of legal proceedings does not mean that homes will be repossessed.
Deputy Adams mentioned that 25% or one in four homes are being repossessed. The Central Bank statistics show that in 2014 313, principal dwelling houses were repossessed on foot of a court order. This represents less than 0.3% of the total number of family homes in mortgage arrears at the end of 2014. In 2015, the number of principal dwelling houses repossessed on a foot of a court order was 156, while a further 195 were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned. In quarter 1 of 2015, 206 buy-to-let properties were taken into possession by lenders, of which 123 were repossessed on foot of a court order and the remaining 83 properties were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned.
In terms of Government measures introduced to address this situation, the Personal Insolvency Act was enacted in 2012. This legislation introduces three new forms of non-judicial debt settlement arrangements and reduces the automatic discharge from bankruptcy from 12 years to 3 years. The Insolvency Service of Ireland, ISI, which was established to regulate the new debt settlement arrangements, reports that at the end of quarter 1 of 2015, 328 personal insolvency arrangements, the main mechanism to deal with secured debt, had been approved and that 821 arrangements, including debt relief notices, debt settlement arrangements and so on, have been made to date.
The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, is currently working on changes to provide for the introduction of further options to deal with longer term mortgages in arrears. The introduction of a mortgage-to-rent scheme facilitates families being able to remain in their homes by way of transfer of ownership of the house to a local authority or approved housing body. At the end of May, approximately 2,800 cases had been put forward, of which 2,000 have been progressed. As part of the Government package on mortgage arrears announced last month by the Minister, this scheme is to be amended to provide for an increase in the valuation threshold and greater flexibility in regard to property size, namely, an additional bedroom, to enable more properties to qualify under that scheme. A Mortgage Arrears Information Advisory Service has also been developed. This service also provides advice via its website and helpline, to which there have been more than 238,000 visits since June 2012.
Earlier this year, the Central Bank set out new requirements for the banks to meet, including that concluded sustainable solutions be put in place for the vast majority of distressed borrowers by the end of 2015. Where legal action is taken that may result in loss of ownership for a borrower, the bank should be prepared to re-engage with the borrower and explore alternative solutions, if the borrower re-engages. By year end, 75% of concluded solutions should be meeting their terms and banks must comply with the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and engage fully and appropriately, as set out in the Personal Insolvency Act 2012.
Deputy Adams mentioned the situation in Dublin, which is of great concern to the Minister and Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputies Kelly and Coffey, respectively. This is not just an issue of concern to our citizens, it has implications for competitiveness for the country as a whole. The Deputy will be aware that the line of investment into this country is very strong. In the Dublin area and, in particular, the greater Dublin area, there have been some very significant investment announcements made in the past two years. All of these require housing and office space infrastructure, which is a fundamental part of the construction sector.
The new planning legislation currently being advanced by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, is bolstered by measures introduced in budget 2015, including the national framework for housing supply. This housing provision will be based on timely and accurate data and an annual statement of projected supply and demand. The Minister has also established a housing supply co-ordination task force for Dublin, which meets every Monday morning, and provides for a joined-up approach in the Dublin area, with an immediate focus on addressing supply and demand imbalances. The Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015, published two weeks ago, seeks, primarily, to address the current shortage in housing supply, with a view to facilitating an increase in the housing construction sector, particularly in Dublin. It also targets a revision of the Part V obligation for developers in relation to social and affordable housing, which will contribute an estimated 4,000 housing units to the delivery of the targets in the social housing strategy. This strategy calls for a change in the regime for development contributions so that reduced rates can be applied to existing planning permissions and for incentives and penalties aimed at encouraging the development of vacant and under-utilised sites in urban areas.
The planning and development (No. 2) Bill will be published before the summer recess. This provides for the establishment of a new office of planning regulator which will provide enhanced transparency in the streamlining of the planning system, including a reduction in durations of planning permissions not progressed properly. In this regard, a use it or lose it approach will apply. This should result in an increased availability of social housing, which is a key priority for Government.
As announced in the budget last year, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has been given an additional €2.2 billion in respect of social housing provision. A social housing strategy was published in November 2014. This strategy builds on the provisions contained in budget 2015 and sets out clear and measurable targets to increase the supply of social housing through reform of delivery arrangements to meet the housing needs of all households on the housing lists. The strategy also targets more than 110,000 social housing units, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units, in meeting the housing needs of approximately 75,000 households through the housing assistance payment and the rental accommodation scheme. Implementation of this strategy will address in full the needs of the 90,000 households on the waiting lists, with flexibility to meet potential future demand.
A provisional allocation of €1.5 billion in respect of local authority social housing provision was announced in April, the aim of which is to meet an ambitious delivery target of 22,883 social housing units out to 2017. Within this, the combined programme for Dublin comes to more than €500 million, €117 million of which was allocated to the four Dublin local authorities in early May in respect of 19 build projects which will see the development of approximately 566 new units of accommodation. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, has allocated this funding to the local authorities and has instructed them to get on with it in terms of social housing provision. In addition, the four Dublin local authorities have been allocated almost €6 million to bring 345 properties back into use this year and more than €15 million has been provided for Dublin across a range of other housing schemes, including works to improve housing efficiency for people with disabilities and retrofit of homes to improve energy efficiency. The home renovation incentive has been extended. This scheme is now open to landlords in respect of work carried out up to end 2015. The 80% windfall tax, which applied to chargeable gains on the disposal or development of land, which are attributable to planning decisions, has also been removed. The 33% rate of capital gains tax and other standard taxation arrangements will now apply. It is hoped this will remove any disincentive to the selling of land that might otherwise be put to good use.
First-time buyers are also being supported through the introduction of a refund of deposit interest retention tax on savings used to purchase a home. The Living City initiative, which is a new urban regeneration incentive focused on the regeneration of the historic centres of six cities, including Waterford, Limerick, Kilkenny, Galway, Dublin and Cork, has also been introduced. We do not want to see anybody sitting on land for the purpose of driving prices higher and cashing in. The Minister for Finance has held a public consultation on if and how this issue is to be addressed. He has also indicated that he will examine what taxation measures might be put in place to penalise landowners who do not develop land that is already zoned and serviced, if that is required.
These are some of the provisions the Government has put in place to address this.
However, as we all know, we cannot deal with the issue unless we put blocks, concrete and houses in place. That is the reason the full focus of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and of the Minister of State, with responsibility for housing, is on dealing with this urgent priority. While some 20,000 extra people have been employed in the past 12 months in the construction sector, there is clearly a need now for the Minister of State to prioritise the issues in respect of the Planning Bill and incentives for builders to get to work and meet the demand for private and social housing. We have allocated the money to the local authorities. They have the directions, the targets and the land. Let them get on with it now.
We must also look at the other question regarding how to meet demand, both in the greater Dublin area and beyond and the Minister of State is addressing that vigorously.
The reason we are asking the Taoiseach about the frequency of the meetings of the Cabinet sub-committee on housing and mortgage arrears is because this is the most serious crisis facing our citizens and the entire economy. However, there seems to be no sense of urgency from the top of Government as to how bad the situation is. It is no exaggeration to say we are at the edge of and heading right into the eye of a storm that will rip apart the lives of tens of thousands of families and children and now represents a serious threat to the economy as a whole.
Today, the Central Bank produced a report which states the rise in property and rental prices across the whole commercial and property sectors is a major domestic threat to the economy, probably the major domestic threat. At a human level, the situation is beyond appalling. I am not exaggerating when I say that every day and week a trail of families relate heart-breaking family stories in my clinic, and I know the situation is the same for other Deputies. The stories go on and on and it is evident from them that the crisis is reaching further and deeper into society. Every spectrum of society is affected. Students have to share accommodation with strangers because they cannot get accommodation. Families and children are being evicted because landlords are seeking higher rents and now dozens and hundreds of them face homelessness. We are moving towards a situation where thousands of people face the same fate. The situation is disastrous and getting worse.
The Government is not even scratching the surface in terms of its response. I do not have time to go into the figures, but as I have pointed out on a number of occasions to the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, who is sitting beside the Taoiseach, the targets are a mirage and will not materialise, because the Government hopes to get 80% of the social housing it proposes to deliver this year from the private sector. That is not going to happen. Figures released this week show there are 10,000 extra families a month seeking private rented accommodation. These are people who are working, but even on average wages, they have extreme difficulty sourcing affordable accommodation. They cannot buy and are completely crowding out anybody on a low income or who is social welfare dependant.
Therefore, the idea that local authorities will source the necessary social accommodation from private landlords or developers is fantasy. Any serious look at the figures makes this clear. The target for 2015 is 15,800 units. Some 8,400 of these are due to come through HAPs to private landlords, some 3,000 are to come through leasing from private landlords and some 2,000 are to come through RAS, again through private landlords. Therefore, we are not delivering social housing. We are not delivering council housing. We are hoping against hope that we will get the housing from private landlords, when all of the evidence shows that private landlords are moving away from people on low incomes who are dependent on rent allowance and social welfare. The private landlords are looking for high prices, which are unaffordable, even for people on medium earnings.
A three bedroom apartment in south Dublin now rents for from €1,500 to €1,800. The average net after tax income for a worker is approximately €2,400 per month. Therefore, people are expected to pay two thirds of their income to put a roof over their head, leaving them with very little to pay the rest of their bills. This is the case for people on the average income, €35,000 a year. Imagine what it is like for somebody who is social welfare dependent, dependent on rent allowance or for someone on a low income or working in Dunnes Stores. Paying such a rent is not possible. The purpose of our questions is to appeal to the Government to get into emergency mode on this issue. As the Taoiseach rightly said, bricks and mortar must follow. At this point, this must be done by the State. Otherwise, we will not even get close to the targets. If the Government depends on the private sector, it will not happen.
Rent control must be introduced as a matter of urgency. Based on the figures of 10,000 extra people moving into the private rented sector and the chronic shortage of accommodation, one does not need to be Einstein to work out that rents will continue to rocket. They have already risen by 20%. We will face a catastrophe in six months' time. Rent controls, not rent certainty, must be introduced now so that rents will be related to the ability of people to pay them. If the Government does not introduce rent control, it is consigning people directly into homelessness. I appeal to the Taoiseach to get into emergency mode. We did it for the liquidation of IBRC. I plead with him to do it for the most urgent social crisis facing the State.
I think the Deputy is unduly pessimistic about the capacity of the industry to respond, although it is admittedly slow to take off. In Dublin and everywhere else, we will not deal with the situation until houses are built. In so far as the State is concerned, the Government has made an allocation of €2.2 billion to deal with all of the cases on the housing list - over 90,000 - over the next number of years. We are not just saying we propose to allocate this money. This money has already been provided and local authorities have been given their targets and directions, so let them get on with it.
The private sector must get involved here also. In the past six months, for example, some hundreds of millions of euro in terms of investment have come into the greater Dublin region. This creates a demand for housing, apartments, commercial industrial space and general infrastructure and calls for massive involvement of the construction sector, bringing jobs for builders. In respect of housing, there is clearly a problem in regard to where the changes in the rules of the Central Bank, which now require 40% of funding to be put up by builders. This was not the case previously, when 100% borrowing was allowed and the situation was allowed to get out of control, with builders building on the profits from sales. Then the entire process collapsed. The assumption at the time was that the State could run on the proceeds of the construction sector. The situation is different now, because all sectors across the board are making solid progress, for example, financial services, hospitality, the agri-sector and other elements making up our economy. What we need is capacity of competent contractors to build good and affordable houses.
I never want to see a situation again where contractors are let get out of control, where having got planning permission, they will proceed to build whatever they want on their land. We cannot have the Priory Halls or similar again. Deputy Boyd Barrett knows as well as I do that one of the key components of controlling the situation is to have a very good clerk of works examining these sites, someone who will point out what is not in accordance with building requirements and call for it to be knocked down.
They will soon learn not to build to an inferior quality. We have had some outstanding builders in the country who have built very good buildings and very fine houses.
The Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey, are working at the moment on a number of elements which I genuinely hope will give a real stimulus and impetus to the construction sector, particularly housing. Deputy Boyd Barrett is probably aware that some people are advised to go on the homeless list when they leave their accommodation. The Department of Social Protection, the Tánaiste and Threshold have been very clear that if the information is available that the landlord will increase the rent, and that the tenant is likely to be put out on the street or removed from the accommodation, a scheme is operated by Threshold which provides rent assistance in individual cases. Many hundreds of people have received assistance and been able to stay in their accommodation. That scheme continues in operation. In many cases, people are either not informed about it or they are advised to go on the homeless list. Some local authorities have a much more vigorous response to providing houses than others, and where land is zoned, they get on with the business. Local authorities have received their targets and moneys from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and building is already under way for units of two, five, ten, 20 or 100. Those who are likely to be caught by an increase in rent should certainly avail of the scheme because it has helped approximately 1,000 people to date. When the Minister comes back with a package, I hope some certainty in respect of rent will be included so that people can project forward with a degree of certainty. Such a package of measures will help to drive the agenda.
I hope the Department of Finance and the other elements of the financial institutions will be able to play their part as well. There is a requirement on contractors in terms of them being able to access the finance they need as a component of the overall approach to get building under way. The requirement is now 40% and some find it difficult to raise that amount. An examination is required of how that can best be accommodated. I hope we can debate the package of measures when the Ministers bring it to the Dáil.
The reason we have asked this question is because I have been in the Dáil for just over a year and in that time we have not had a debate on housing. I participated in the debate on the housing Bill last year but since then there has not been a debate on the biggest disaster and crisis facing the majority of people in this country.
The Taoiseach mentioned a couple of issues and said that we are unduly pessimistic. He acknowledged that measures were a bit slow to take off. Since I came to the House I have heard about Construction 2020. The Taoiseach thinks that if he keeps saying it often enough, he will convince us that houses are being built, but as in the children’s story, a child will point out that the emperor has no clothes. We can see that no houses are being built. One could ask what the 20,000 people employed in the construction sector are doing.
The Taoiseach has listed a number of measures introduced by the Government, namely, the windfall tax and the reduction in capital gains tax, and he also mentioned the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, and the housing assistance payment, HAP. They are all incentives thrown in the direction of private landlords and developers to try to get them to provide housing, but they are not interested in providing housing for the people who desperately need it. They are only interested in providing housing for profit. The only people in a position to buy houses right now are people who already have a lot of money.
One could ask what NAMA is doing while all this is going on. I received figures from NAMA on Dublin 15. Is the Taoiseach and his Minister aware that not one social house is planned in the greater Blanchardstown area?
Yet.
There is not one house in Dublin 15. The reason for that is because the council does not have any land, and also because NAMA has many houses in Dublin 15. It has 170 units in Hollywood Rath on 20.98 acres. As to the type of unit in question, they are mansions. No one in Dublin 15 who is on the housing list can afford them. We have a housing crisis but let NAMA, which is paid for by the taxpayer, build and sanction mansions. That is what is going on.
I refer to the crisis in the rental sector. A report published yesterday showed a 52% increase in the number of people renting in the past 18 months. A total of 700,000 people are renting today compared with only 455,000 in December 2013. The Taoiseach is presiding over a situation where no building is taking place and people are being forced into the private rented sector. A total of 10,000 a month are being forced to rent. That just shows the housing strategy is not working. Rents in Kildare, for example, have increased by 15.5% and they have increased by more than 10% in Dublin. I hope we are not boring the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly. The Labour Party argued in favour of keeping rent supplement low because otherwise it would result in an increase in rent, but rent is increasing anyway. The main effect of the Government’s policy is that almost everyone on rent supplement is being forced into paying illegal top-ups on their rent to landlords. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton, should be very concerned about that.
Could the Deputy please return to asking questions because we have only 12 minutes left and I am trying to get to the next three questions?
Yes. What people who are waiting on housing are forced to do when their rent supplement is not increased is to pay illegal top-ups on their rent to landlords. It is the only type of social welfare fraud that I do not hear the Government giving out about, because the people who benefit from the fraud are wealthy landlords and those who suffer from it are the poorest people in the State who are forced to go to moneylenders, for example.
The second most common reason for homelessness is the repossession of buy-to-let accommodation. A total of 35,000 households are potentially at risk of homelessness as a receiver can evict tenants to sell the house. Could the Taoiseach indicate whether there is a plan to introduce legislation to deal with the issue? The Government has repeatedly refused to change the law in this area, whereby someone living in a property due to be sold following repossession has no right of recourse to stay in the property and continue to pay rent. That alone would save a considerable number of people from being turfed onto the streets.
The biggest problem people face in the housing sector is the collapse in construction by local authorities under the Government's term in office. Despite all of the fanfare about Social Housing Strategy 2020, the Government has further privatised local authority housing and sources more and more of it through RAS and HAP. Does the Taoiseach know how many people have taken up the HAP scheme in Dublin City Council? The answer is only a handful because landlords are not interested. Does the Taoiseach not see the error of a policy introduced last year which is clearly not going to work? It was intended that 75% of units would be sourced in that way, but it will not work. When will the committee discuss the matter and report back on it?
The biggest increase in homelessness is family homelessness, which has increased by 800% since 2013. Focus Ireland, which works on the front line with families, has said the increase in homelessness has taken place in the middle of an economic recovery. It used to deal with eight families a month but that had increased to 71 in April. In excess of 100,000 are on the waiting lists for housing. We need those issues to be discussed, and not just by the committee. Will the matter be brought to the Dáil for a debate at some stage because people find it incredible that there has not been a debate on the biggest social ill facing society, bar none? It is more important than the water charges or anything else.
The Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, has done more about homelessness than has been done for very many years.
Is the Taoiseach serious?
There are more homeless people now.
Will Deputy Martin listen to me for a minute?
Wake me from my slumber.
In December 2014, the Minister with responsibility for housing and planning announced the implementation plan of the State's response to homelessness. The plan sets out a range of short-term and medium-term approaches. It will deliver 2,700 units for homeless people by the end of 2016. I will remind the Deputy of some of the actions that were taken. An increase of 271 beds in the Dublin region has brought the total number of beds available for adults across the Dublin region to 1,762 as of 15 May. Merchants Quay Ireland is providing a State-funded night café, providing a key contact point for people who do not or cannot access emergency accommodation. It operates seven nights per week from 11 p.m. until 7.30 a.m. I found the service there, and the people who work in it and use it, to be first class. The Housing First service, which has responsibility for engaging with and responding to the accommodation and support needs of people sleeping rough in Dublin, has extended its on-street service until 3 a.m. During 2014, 2,333 vacant units across the country were brought back into productive use and the 2015 target is 1,000. The Tenancy Protection Service on behalf of the local authorities in Dublin and Cork has protected 390 tenancies since the inception of the service in June 2014 and arrangements are under way to establish a single assessment centre for families who are currently accommodated in hotels. There is ongoing liaising with South Dublin County Council regarding NAMA properties.
NAMA has approved €1.6 billion across a range of construction projects and €1 billion has been drawn down to fund commercial and residential construction projects, including the completion of existing projects and the development of new projects. NAMA established a dedicated residential delivery team comprising staff with specialist finance, development and planning expertise to support the agency's residential development strategy. NAMA completed detailed analysis of its residential sites within the greater Dublin area and across the other urban centres in which NAMA security is predominantly located. NAMA’s residential delivery team is project managing viable projects through appraisal, design and planning stages with a view to bringing them to “shovel-ready” state. NAMA has committed to funding the delivery of 4,500 new homes in the Dublin area by the end of 2016, 1,362 of which were delivered in 2014 as against a target of 1,000, representing more than 40% of Dublin’s total new housing supply in 2014. NAMA’s objective is to deliver another 1,500 units in 2015 with the remainder to be delivered during 2016.
They are not social houses.
NAMA is already working to facilitate delivery of substantial housing beyond 2016 and in this regard funding its debtors and receivers to progress two projects through design, pre-planning and planning processes consistent with the priorities set out in the local development plan.
Deputy Coppinger will be aware of the complete collapse of the construction sector. We were building 90,000 houses per year but it dropped to 8,500. The Deputy can understand the loss of 100,000 construction workers and what it meant. While the base is very low, strong growth in housing activity is evident, particularly in Dublin. At a national level, activity is moving closer to projected requirements, with just over 11,000 units completed last year. Some 2,629 were completed in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 26% on the same period last year. This masks serious deficits in Dublin, where just 3,268 units were completed in the four Dublin local authorities in 2014. This comprises 1,487 houses and 1,781 apartments. NAMA facilitated the delivery of 1,362 units in 2014, representing more than 40% of the total new housing output in Dublin. The Deputy can understand that the Housing Agency projected a requirement last year in Dublin of 5,400 units, to rise in subsequent years, with other estimates in the order of 6,000 to 8,000 units per annum.
It is 8,000 per year.
Clearly, we need a serious take-up beyond what there has been. Work by the Department of Finance suggests the number of houses completed in Dublin in 2015 will be approximately 3,800 units, up 20% on 2014 but still a 40% shortfall on the estimated demand. We need competent contractors on the ground with the ability to build quality houses at affordable prices as quickly as possible.
Cabinet Committees
Micheál Martin
Ceist:6. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on justice reform last met. [3272/15]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:7. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on justice reform last met. [5467/15]
Gerry Adams
Ceist:8. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings of the Cabinet committee on justice reform has held since it was established; and when it last met. [12801/15]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on justice reform has met on eight occasions to date and last met on 25 May 2015. I expect that it will meet again soon but the date for its next meeting has not been scheduled yet.
I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. The Taoiseach will agree that the Cabinet committee on justice reform was established because the Government had allowed the sector to slide into crisis after crisis and was a sign that the Government was looking for a way out. In particular the background to the justice reform committee was the way the Taoiseach and the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, behaved in embroiling the Garda Síochána in an unprecedented crisis and the effective removal of a Garda Commissioner. Like the Moriarty tribunal, the Taoiseach is keen to bury any inconvenient investigation, and does so with sustained energy. However, many people believe the Taoiseach and his staff are already busy spinning regarding the Fennelly commission. We read about sections of the report in the Irish Independent last Saturday, while the former Garda Commissioner, Mr. Martin Callinan, is meant to be on holidays and has not received his part of the report yet. Is the Taoiseach concerned over these selective leaks? They seem to be leaked in such a way as to be spun positively in the Taoiseach’s direction.
Surprise, surprise.
No matter what the report says, the Taoiseach will declare himself to have been cleared, rush it through a debate in the Dáil and then try to smother it in other leaks and announcements. Does the Taoiseach intend to bring it before the Cabinet committee on justice reform, will he agree in advance with the House a timetable for releasing and debating the report after it has been submitted, or will he insist on controlling and spinning all of it through his favourite channels?
It might be useful if the Taoiseach could indicate when he expects the Fennelly report might be published. The committee has met two times more than the other one with which we dealt and has also dealt with many scandalous issues that eroded public confidence in the administration of justice. I welcome the fact that the Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is making its slow way through the two Houses. When does the Taoiseach expect the Garda authority to be operational? We have argued very strongly for an independent policing authority, and in particular we have concerns that there should be an independent criminal justice inspectorate as opposed to a Minister dealing with such issues. Given that we are out of time, perhaps the Taoiseach would give us some information on the two issues, particularly the first one. When does he expect the Fennelly report to be published?
Deputy Martin has accused me of sacking the previous Garda Commissioner and misleading the Dáil. Now, he has accused me of breaking the law in being out with him and his staff. I reject all these charges by Deputy Martin.
What charges?
The Deputy knows the legislation that established commissions of investigation and it is illegal to make any comment on anything to do with a commission of investigation until it is ready to be published. I have already said, on many occasions, that when I receive a copy of the Fennelly report that can be published, it will be published in accordance with the law. It is beneath the Deputy, as a member of the Government which drafted the commission of investigation legislation, to come here and make the charges he has made.
Which charge?
He made the charge that staff here and I had been briefing about a commission of investigation report.
That is not what I said.
Who is doing it?
That is what he said. It is beneath Deputy Micheál Martin. He is asking me to break the law, which I will not do. I have already advised him on many occasions that I reject the charges he made. When the report is received-----
I asked the Taoiseach whether he was concerned about the reports. I did not accuse him of leaking them.
I am concerned. The Deputy has made a charge which I ask him to withdraw to the effect that I was out there with staff in respect of anything to do with the Fennelly commission.
I did not say the Taoiseach was out anywhere.
That is beneath the Deputy and he should withdraw the charge. I reject the charges he made.
I did not use that phrase and the Taoiseach should withdraw it.
The report will be published in accordance with the law when I receive it. The Deputy understands the legislation and I abide by it fully and completely.
The Taoiseach should withdraw that remark. I did not use that phrase at all.
Yes, the Deputy did.
Written Answers follow Adjournment.