Social Housing Policy: Motion [Private Members]

Deputy Dessie Ellis

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

accepts that there is an emergency social housing crisis resulting from years of underinvestment in social housing builds and acknowledges that the only way to fully address this crisis is to immediately commence a major social house building programme;

further accepts that, as a consequence of lack of investment, bad planning, property speculation and incompetent governance, combined with successive ideologically similar Governments that have incentivised the private sector to increasingly deliver social housing needs, there is an unprecedented homelessness crisis;

demands that the Government address its abject failure to deal with the housing and homelessness crisis which has resulted in almost 5,000 people State-wide living in emergency accommodation; an estimated 2,298 people living in emergency accommodation in Dublin, 1,275 of whom are children; and an estimated 80 plus families presenting to the Dublin Region Homeless Executive on a monthly basis;

notes that in the period succeeding the temporary provision of 260 extra beds last Christmas in response to the death of Jonathan Corrie on Molesworth Street, Dublin, the number of people sleeping rough on the streets has doubled;

commends charitable organisations, community groups and housing agencies for the work they are doing to assist people who are homeless or living in housing distress throughout the State;

acknowledges the findings of the Dublin Simon Community Annual Review 2014, that highlighted the unprecedented levels of homelessness and the growing numbers of people sleeping rough and in emergency accommodation in the capital;

commends Threshold’s Dublin Tenancy Protection Service in preventing 900 families from homelessness over the last year;

agrees that current Rent Supplement levels are wholly inadequate to meet people’s needs as illustrated by figures released recently by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, (PRTB) that reveal a significant increase across both the private rental housing and apartment markets in Ireland up to June, 2015, with average rent for private accommodation increasing 7.1 per cent in 12 months from the second quarter of 2014;

notes:

— that since this government came to power the spend on Rent Supplement has reduced from €516,860,000 in 2010 to an estimated figure of €298,415,000 in 2015 and that the Mortgage Interest Supplement decreased during the same period from €77,246,000 to €11,930,000 and that this Government has made it easier for the banks to evict people in mortgage arrears, resulting in more homelessness and housing overcrowding;

— recent figures released by the PRTB that starkly show housing rents were 6.4 per cent higher in the second quarter of this year, while apartment rents increased by 7.6 per cent, meaning tenants leasing a house paid out an average of €878 per month in rent - €50 more than in the same period in 2014 - and for people renting an apartment, the national average rate was recorded at €922; and

— that in Dublin, rental rates continue to increase close to ‘boom’ time levels, with housing rents increasing by 8.8 per cent, while apartment rates went up by 9.4 per cent, meaning the typical rent for a house in Dublin in the second quarter of this year was €1,387 and €1,260 for an apartment, while the Rent Supplement threshold is €950 a month;

recognises the key role approved housing bodies have in providing and managing social housing;

agrees that housing homeless families in hotels and bed and breakfasts is wholly unacceptable and unsustainable;

further agrees that modular housing as proposed by this Government as an emergency response measure is not the correct response to the crisis but does not oppose the provision of any shelter for homeless families on condition that modular housing is of high quality, is short-term, is well integrated and does not act as a replacement or financial impediment to a proper social housing build programme; and

calls on the Government to:

— review Part VIII of the Planning and Development Act 2000, with the view to temporarily amending legislation in order to provide social housing in a more timely manner;

— significantly increase the direct funding to local authorities to commence a long-term plan of social housing expansion;

— provide the legislative framework for local authorities to be able to access Housing Finance Agency loans off balance sheet to further supplement a major expansion of social housing;

— reverse the prioritisation of State-subsidised private rented accommodation through schemes such as the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and leasing, in favour of local authority and Housing Association direct build, or purchase social housing;

— implement immediately a number of measures to address the housing and homelessness crisis which Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has conceded is now a ‘humanitarian crisis’;

— contact the European Union Commission and have the housing crisis declared a ‘national emergency’, allowing the Government to speed up the public procurement process when building social housing and to fund the building of social housing off balance sheet;

— work in tandem with the PRTB to introduce emergency legislation to cap and reduce rents to reasonable rent levels and to index-link future rent rises;

— accept that with approximately 38,000 mortgage holders experiencing severe mortgage distress, there is a need to introduce emergency legislation to cap mortgage interest rates;

— strengthen the protection of the family home in the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013;

— compel the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) to engage in an emergency consultation with local authorities, and give local authorities the funding and power to have the first refusal on suitable NAMA properties or land banks;

— review all property-related tax reliefs that encourage speculation for profit;

— set up municipal trusts with local authorities to source off-balance sheet funding to build social housing;

— give local authorities first option on empty State lands and buildings to address social housing needs;

— adequately fund local authorities to allow for regeneration projects, new-build social housing, making voids ready for allocation within the agreed six week period, and to refurbish existing stock;

— acquire on a temporary basis empty buildings, including office space, unused retail units and other vacant properties that can be suitably converted quickly for accommodation use;

— increase requirements under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to 20 per cent social and affordable housing on all new developments;

— increase funding for local authorities to build extensions to address overcrowding and disability adaptation needs in existing housing stock;

— reintroduce the Financial Contribution Scheme for senior citizens with monies raised being retained for future social housing needs;

— accept that local authorities are severely hampered from addressing the homelessness issue due to a lack of State funding and commit to adequately fund local authorities to address the short-fall in funding required for homelessness;

— ring-fence and increase funding to refuges that house survivors of domestic violence;

— re-examine the feasibility of the rural resettlement scheme;

— provide adequate funding to approved housing bodies to ensure they play a full role in provision of social housing; and

— expand and extend Threshold’s Tenancy Protection Service to include Galway, Limerick, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare.

Ba mhaith liom an rún seo a d'ardaigh Sinn Féin a mholadh, rún a d'ardaigh an páirtí mar go bhfuil géarchéim ann i dtaca le tithíocht agus daoine gan dídean. Today, we face a housing and homelessness crisis of epic proportions described by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, and other eminent people as "a humanitarian crisis". There are currently 130,000 applicants on housing waiting lists across the country and since the Government came to power in 2011, an average of 400 social housing units have been built annually, which goes nowhere near meeting the needs of these people. A total of 5,000 homeless people and 1,500 children live in emergency accommodation on a daily basis, with 80 new families a month reporting homeless. There are 130 individuals sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin every night.

Through this motion, we call on Dáil Éireann to recognise the scale of the crisis we, as a nation, are experiencing resulting from the policy of this Government and previous Governments. We call on the Dáil to accept that bad planning and bad governance, as well as the incentivisation of private sector delivery of social housing needs, has directly resulted in the horrendous situation in which tens of thousands of our people find themselves. The appalling deaths of Jonathan Corrie and, more recently, Alan Murphy, who both passed away in the cold near the gates of this House, is an indictment of our society and our Government. In response to the death of Mr. Corrie last year, 260 additional beds were provided, but as the numbers of people sleeping on our streets continue to increase, we can see that 260 beds were simply not enough. The number of those sleeping rough has doubled since Jonathan’s death. The Government has used hotels and bed and breakfasts as an immediate remedy to the crisis, but this has caused further hardship for families by effectively imprisoning them in this accommodation without facilities to cook or to live a normal life. Many of the families I have spoken to have been put up in hotels on the other side of the city removed from all family supports, friends and miles from where their children go to school.

The haemorrhage from rental supplement and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, to homelessness needs to be stemmed by the introduction of indexed rent controls in conjunction with an increase in rent supplement. The Minister has repeatedly failed in his commitment to introduce any form of rent control and, once again, his latest utterings are of no comfort to any tenant renting in this country. Ireland has one of the highest rates of home ownership in Europe, but this is changing rapidly due to the lack of housing supply. There are 30 year olds in full-time work, with children of their own, being forced to move back in with their parents to avoid rent jail. As rents soar, tenants need progressive policy and regulation of the rental sector. In Dublin, rents have increased by 34% since 2011 and are increasing to rates last witnessed during the so-called boom. Housing rents have gone up by 8.8% while rents for apartments in the capital are up a massive 9.4%. Currently, landlords have the power to demand more rent at will, which is directly driving people into homelessness.

We call on Dáil Éireann to recognise that the capping of rent supplement must be stopped, simultaneous to the introduction of rent controls, to ensure rents demanded by landlords do not escalate to meet any increase in the rent cap. Government spending on social housing fell by €1.2 billion between 2008 and 2014. In 2013, approximately 750 units were built by local authorities and approved housing bodies, AHBs, with a further 1,200 delivered through leasing arrangements. That year, a surge in households waiting for housing were transferred from rental supports into the RAS. In the long term social housing must be sustainable, and its provision ought not to be based on the private market. Tenants who need social housing are now trapped by rent supplement, which is subsidising private landlords. These subsidies are policies of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil. We, in Sinn Féin, do not believe we have arrived here by chance. There can be little doubt that a history of bad policy has sown the seeds of our current crisis.

Modular housing has been mentioned as part of the solution to the housing crisis but it is imperative that it is not a permanent one that supplants State-led development of social housing. The development of modular housing in the short term has the potential to take people off the streets and out of hotels and bed and breakfasts, but there are serious challenges around how modular housing would work in practical terms. Among our solutions to the crisis, we propose that NAMA engages with local authorities to provide funding as well as properties that can be utilised for housing need.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

On a point of order, I want to record as a Member of the House and one of the signatories to the motion that it is an absolute disgrace that neither the Minister nor the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is present for this most important debate. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, who is present. It is absolutely scandalous that none of the relevant representatives of the Department concerned is present in the Chamber.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister of State has informed me that the Minister is on his way. That is all I can tell the Deputy.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The fire sale of NAMA properties should also be immediately stopped, as this has the potential to further add to the homeless crisis. Local authorities should be given first option on empty State lands and buildings which could then be used for accommodation. A total of 2,600 council houses lie vacant in every town and village across Ireland as well as thousands of empty buildings, retail and office spaces which could be converted quickly into accommodation and would also revitalise the areas. Additionally, Dublin City Council has enough land zoned for housing to build 29,300 units over almost 300 ha. Space is going to waste. We call on the Government to take immediate action to ensure these lands are redeveloped. We propose reintroducing the financial contribution scheme for those over the age of 55, which would also provide for a contribution to be retained for future social housing need and initiatives. Currently, hundreds of applications are waiting to be processed in Dublin City Council alone which would release much needed housing. The Government presided over the reduction of the Part V social housing provision in the recent housing Bill. However, we propose that the social and affordable housing provision be reinstated to the original level of 20%.

The motion addresses the issue of mortgage arrears, which is destroying the lives of thousands of people across this country. Many of those who bought property during the so-called boom years are not immune to the crisis as mortgage interest rates soar in tandem with evictions. Sinn Féin calls on the Government to introduce emergency legislation to cap mortgage interest rates to stem the flow of homeowners into severe mortgage arrears.

We believe that greater State investment in social housing would have obvious benefits for people seeking to buy in the private market as it would relieve overall pressure on the housing sector.

We call on the Dáil to commend charitable organisations, community groups and housing agencies like Threshold, the Simon Community, the Peter McVerry Trust and the Private Residential Tenancy Board, PRTB, for the work they do every day to help people in this time of crisis. With this motion we call on the Government not only to ensure the availability of funding to housing organisations but to ensure provisions are made to expand and extend Threshold’s tenancy protection service to Galway, Limerick, Wicklow, Meath and Kildare. This crisis affects each of our major cities and is now hitting our towns and villages.

Housing in rural Ireland currently presents problems, particularly for young people who are not only finding it difficult to get a mortgage to buy existing housing but who also find the cost of building a house substantial. This has resulted in population concentration in urban centres, which puts more pressure on the housing sector. Therefore, we propose that the Government re-examine the feasibility of rural resettlement.

The economic crisis has seen unprecedented numbers of domestic abuse survivors coming forward to seek support. We call on the Government to ensure funding is available to refuges that house survivors of domestic abuse.

Every person in Ireland has the right to quality housing, regardless of income, age, economic or other affiliation or status, and has a right to freedom from discrimination in housing. Minority groups such as Travellers have the same rights. We propose that housing should be a right not a privilege and enshrined in our Constitution, of which the Constitutional Convention took a similar view.

Every citizen of this island has the right to security of tenure, guaranteeing legal protection against forced eviction, harassment or other threats. This measure should be in place regardless of what kind of tenure the tenant is bound by. Every person has the right to housing of a standard that protects them from cold, damp, heat, rain, wind or other threats to health, including harassment. All tenants have a right to repair of housing. Disadvantaged groups - the elderly, children, people with disabilities and lone parents - have a right to affirmative action in housing. This Government has failed in all these areas and lives have been put at risk. We call on all Deputies of every persuasion to support our Private Members' motion and to acknowledge that this crisis is impacting on a huge segment of our population - on men, women and children.

The Minister announced a major house-building programme almost a year ago, involving an expenditure of €3.8 billion, €2.5 billion of which was to be allocated over the first three years and €1.3 billion was to be allocated over the next three years. What has happened in the year since he announced that programme? What has been delivered? Very little has been delivered.

The Minister also made a commitment that he would end homelessness by 2016. We now have a major crisis. He should be ashamed that he made that commitment in the first place.

I have been meeting people affected by this crisis. I received a telephone call from a woman last night who had her grandchild and her daughter with her and they had to go back to one of the hotels across the town. The child was roaring crying, she would not move, she did not want to go and could not handle the situation. The effect this is having on our children is massive. I have never in my life seen a crisis like this one. I have been a member of Dublin City Council since 1999 and have served as a Deputy since 2011 and I have never seen the likes of what we are facing now.

We are a wealthy country. It is not as though we are not. We were building social housing in the 1960s and 1970s. We are failing the communities and failing the people. I call on the Minister to support our motion and not to make mealy-mouthed promises but to start delivering on what we need because we are in a major crisis.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I call Deputy Sandra McLellan who is sharing with Deputies Seán Crowe, Michael Colreavy, Martin Ferris and Thomas Broughan.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

The basis of this motion is once again to highlight the need for social housing and how the crisis is just becoming worse as time goes on. An estimated 5,000 people are living in emergency accommodation in this State today. In Dublin alone, more than 1,200 children are living in these unsustainable conditions. That is double the number of people from this time last year. These families are living in circumstances with unknown and limited security. Children travel across cities on buses to get to school every morning, returning to their cramped accommodation in the evenings to attempt their day’s homework. Meanwhile all other activities that would be seen as normal within the average family home go on around them in a very confined space. This is not a conducive environment for normal day to day living let alone the development of a child and their education.

The Simon Community states that the number of families now sleeping rough has also doubled. I take this opportunity to reiterate what the Simon Community has said, namely, that "This is a humanitarian crisis". It is somewhat indicative of this Government and the issues it seems to prioritise, that even on the back of tragic deaths of the late Jonathan Corrie last December and Alan Murphy as recently as last Friday, both so close to the doorsteps of this house, that the aforementioned figures have doubled and still continue to rise.

Although temporary accommodation is of course a better alternative than no accommodation whatsoever, it once again comes back to the question of whether this is sustainable, and I am concerned that the Government may see this as a longer term plaster over the gaping wound that is a social housing crisis.

I also maintain my reservations around the housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme and the stipulations attached to it. There are currently 130,000 on waiting lists. It all appears to be a bureaucratic mess, with tenants and landlords who are availing of this scheme having to jump through countless hoops. As a result, landlords are not keen to engage with the scheme, resulting in minimal take up of it. A study by the Simon Communities last July noted that fewer than 8% of properties to rent in Dublin were affordable within State rent payment caps, which is nowhere near enough given waiting list numbers.

I wish to highlight access to social housing and the catch-22 position that some people seem to find themselves in with regard to availing of these services. For example, in the case of a one-parent family with one or two children living in an urban area, the income threshold for this family to qualify for the social housing list is €35,875 with one child, or €36,750 with two children. That is the situation in Dublin and bear in mind that it is much less throughout the rest of the country. For anyone who earns above this threshold, taking into account ever rising rent prices, the ever increasing standard of living and the astronomical cost of child care in the country, it is almost impossible to see how this parent could make ends meet. Bear in mind that if one is not on the social housing list, one does not qualify for rent allowance and one has to pay the full market rent, but if one's income is just above the social housing threshold, one will never earn enough money to qualify for a mortgage.

These are the type of people who end up as another statistic on the homeless register - people who are outside of thresholds by such a minimal amount, people who are just one or two wage packets away from losing everything they have. An effort should be made to increase these thresholds and, as a result, extend a sense of security to citizens who find themselves in this situation. Once again, the treatment of the homeless, and those who are struggling merely to get by, does not seem to be of paramount importance to those in government and displays somewhat of a detachment from reality.

Now, coming into the winter months, with the nights getting colder, the risk to health comes to the forefront once again. A warm and safe place to sleep at night is not a certainty for many people. Homeless services and charities are at capacity as it is and are already under a considerable amount of pressure to cope with the crisis at present. The workers within these services are at breaking point and this burden should be addressed and relieved as soon as possible.

Access to housing is an issue that, if not addressed immediately, will only lead to more tragic stories like the ones that we have heard in the media and are already too common. Measures need to be taken immediately if this crisis is to be tackled in any sort of a sustainable manner.

I hope this motion can garner the support of all Deputies with the aim of helping those who are most vulnerable and at risk.

Deputy Seán Crowe

I begin by mentioning Alan Murphy, the homeless man who died just a few minutes walking distance from here. I express my deepest sympathy to his family and friends. Alan's death should be a call to action. I appeal to the Minister to declare the housing crisis an emergency. That entails the Government taking practical steps to provide a real and lasting solution to the crisis.

Several of those solutions are contained in the motion.

We need immediate access to essential funding for local authorities to enable them to build social housing. We need to speed up public procurement when issuing contracts to build social housing. Once planning permission is in place, we need funding released to start building. I know of one instance where planning permission was granted in South Dublin County Council in October 2013 but, two years later, the funding to build still has not been released. Last October, the Government announced €3.8 billion was to be made available to eliminate the social housing waiting list. Many local authorities are still waiting for that funding and permissions to go to tender to build. This is beyond belief. People are looking for explanations but I cannot explain why this is the case. There are shovel-ready projects across South Dublin County Council with planning permission but funding has not been released. Who and what is the causing the delay?

Significant tracts of land are available but the Department will not accept funding applications plans for more than 50 homes at a time. The funding is being dolloped out in small amounts. Why is that the case? If land is available, and the Minister says money is now available, then what is the problem? Government policy dictates building should not take place in already overcrowded housing estates, yet the Government is allowing local authorities to apply for funding for social housing units in infill areas in already overcrowded estates. Why is that the case? Does the Minister understand the difficulties this causes? Many estates are already at breaking point from decades of neglect, high unemployment, crime, including drug dealing, lack of youth facilities and anti-social behaviour.

Life on the streets is hard, dangerous, tough, rough and ugly but many opt to stay on the streets because it is safer than hostel accommodation. In my constituency office, we are seeing more and more already vulnerable homeless people being told by the local authorities to self-accommodate, which entails calling to a hotel and asking if they have a room. The idea of asking vulnerable people to find accommodation for themselves is outrageous. They regularly find themselves with no money for transport or phone credit to call the hotels. In my opinion, council staff are overstretched and overburdened. I invite the senior Minister to spend a day, even a morning, at the South Dublin County Council homeless unit, sitting at a desk to observe the stress which homeless families and council staff face.

A refuge for victims of domestic violence, Cuan Álainn in Tallaght, is to close on 18 December. The Respond housing agency says it cannot continue to fund the refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Respond has bank-rolled the refuge in Tallaght for the past three and half years without any financial support from the State. Catering for nine families, Cuan Álainn has housed 71 women and 96 children for more than three years at a cost of €350,000 per annum. Respond undertook to fund this service for three years but can no longer afford to do so. Without this service, women and children may now have to return home to an abusive environment or be forced to enter homelessness. Agencies, including Tusla, accept Respond has identified a definite need to care for women and children who must move on from emergency refuges. Cuan Álainn serves a large catchment area where the need is great. The cost to the State to provide alternatives to this valuable service will in fact be more costly.

I watched Fr. Peter McVerry on RTE television last evening. I agree with his comments that if the country were hit with an outbreak of foot and mouth disease, the Government would declare an emergency. At this stage, one can only draw the conclusion that, to its shame, the Government values the health and well-being of sheep and cattle above that of its own citizens. There is something wrong with such a system. It must change and we must start doing things differently.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

Some say the wheels of government always move very slowly. That is not always the case, however. For example, one need only think of the visit of a foreign dignitary or the outbreak of a disease which might put our livestock or agricultural economy at risk. Then there is an immediate plan of action, great co-ordination and pulling together of the resources of the State to deal with it. We can tackle crises.

A previous Government was able to bail out the Irish banks overnight, putting billions of euro of public funds into the banks in doing so. Now, every man woman and child in the State owes tens of thousands of euro to the banks, the bankers and speculators. Immediate action solved that problem, yet, when 5000 people are living in emergency accommodation across the State, the Government appears to be frozen by inaction. There are well-meaning platitudes, looks of compassion and promises of small amounts of money here and there but nothing of the scale needed to deal with this national emergency.

We are at this stage because of the Government’s inaction. It has failed to build public housing or provide funding for the refurbishment of existing public housing, despite all the announcements, the radio and television programmes and press headlines. Despite knowing that the waiting list for public housing has been growing rapidly over the past several years, the Government has done little or nothing to nip this problem in the bud. Hence, we face this problem today. There has been no Government action on rent controls. Rents have risen dramatically, especially in areas like Dublin. As a consequence, families are no longer able to afford to live in a home because they are forced out by crippling rent prices. The Government has failed to introduce the necessary rent controls to stem the rack-renting that is taking place.

This is also coupled with the fact that the Government has failed to act sufficiently to tackle mortgage distress. Approximately 38,000 mortgage holders are experiencing severe mortgage distress and cannot meet the level of mortgage repayments demanded of them. The Government has, however, failed to introduce a cap on mortgage interest rates to the very banks to which so much public money has gone.

We were told money would be channelled into making a number of vacant properties in each county available for public housing, but nothing has happened. For example, there are 121 vacant public housing units in Sligo and 74 vacant public housing units in Leitrim. While these are tiny numbers compared to the scale of the national problem, what a difference making these units available could make to people on the housing list in counties Sligo and Leitrim.

It is time for the Government to make the housing and homelessness issue a national emergency and do as it should and would do in the event of a threat to our livestock or to human health in this country because families living in emergency accommodation and individuals sleeping on the street is so damaging to health. The charitable organisations, community groups and housing agencies must be commended for the work they have done but no matter how hard they work, they cannot stem the tide of homelessness we are experiencing in this country. It is the responsibility of Government to step up to the plate. Shame on any society that cannot ensure that its citizens have warm, safe and secure homes. Shame on us when families with children are homeless.

Deputy Martin Ferris

All over my constituency in County Kerry and all over this State, there are more people without a roof over their heads than ever. An unprecedented number of people are coming to my three constituency offices, in Kilorglin, Tralee and Listowel, for help because they have lost their homes, are in fear of losing their homes or are part of the hidden homeless, those who are sleeping on couches or living with relatives whose accommodation is inadequate to house them properly. Meanwhile, there are 136 vacant properties in the county.

Some of these people might not be suffering as visibly as those on the streets, but the suffering goes on in separated families, in the stress of overcrowding and of children being aware of their plight and being ashamed of it and not doing so well at school and not managing to turn up to school as well turned out as they used to be and would like to be. People refer to a housing crisis and some talk about a housing emergency but the truth is that if something has been going on for as long as this, then it is no longer a crisis or an emergency but a policy.

We all remember last year when poor Jonathan Corrie died across the road and the Taoiseach, having first notified the media, ventured out into the real world for an hour or so, to visit the homeless on the streets. He went out with the Lord Mayor of Dublin and cried, then the Minister for water charges and homelessness, Deputy Alan Kelly, called an emergency summit and opened some shelters providing temporary accommodation for some of those already on the streets. Providing temporary shelter for people so desperate that they sleep on the streets is better than nothing, it relieves suffering, it may even save lives. There are thousands of others, however. Even though anyone who walks out the door of this institution can see that there are more people than any of us have ever seen on the streets, they are in the minority. Most homeless people are hidden away in a friend’s house, in their mother’s house, in their cars and in rooms in hotels, where they are forced to sleep, eat, wash, mind their kids, do the homework, survive in one room, maintain some semblance of normality and try not to sink into hopelessness.

There are not enough houses. When that happens, when that is government policy, the people on the lowest wages end up homeless. No matter how hard they work, how hard they try, no matter how thrifty and responsible they are, how many pay related social insurance, PRSI, contributions they have made, they end up homeless. Landlords raise the rent, the Government pretends that it has nothing to do with it and rent allowance is cut. None of that is going to be resolved by providing temporary shelter for people living on the streets. None of that has anything to do with the Taoiseach in his woolly hat, traipsing around the city crying crocodile tears.

This week another man died outside the door here. He died in a laneway that many of us use as we pass from Dawson Street to Kildare Street. The media coverage was less and at least we have been spared the crocodile tears from the Government benches. There is cruelty and indifference on those benches and a failure to admit that if a problem persists year after year, it is not just a problem anymore, but a policy. It is a policy that comes from the right-wing political ideology that private property is paramount and that State intervention is some kind of lefty notion that must be fought against, so there is no rent control. Even on commercial property, there are upward-only rent reviews. The free market was being protected when the banks were bailed out at the expense of our public health, social protection, education and housing. That is the ideology that cannot see past a knee-jerk reaction of protection of the rich, the powerful, the people who do not need protection.

The Government cares about the market, property rights, the rich and powerful. That is its ideology. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government speaks about "reasonable measures", nothing that could be interpreted as anti-competitive, nothing too radical by the standards of those who see property and wealth as more important than the lives and well-being of vulnerable people. He is doing nothing about the people who are homeless. Nothing tangible has been done in the past year. It is the Minister's policy that people suffer on.

The Government has to change its policy and implement a programme of building social housing across this State, introduce rent controls and carry out a review of bank repossessions. That is what this Government has to do but it has no notion of doing it. Shamefully, the Labour Party Deputies can embrace and swallow the ideology of right-wing Fine Gaelism. Sinn Féin is tonight introducing a Private Member's motion which calls for housing and homelessness to be tackled. Sinn Féin has outlined a series of measures to tackle the crisis. In the interests of all those homeless or in danger of losing their homes, we hope all parties will support it.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

I warmly support the motion before the House and thank my Sinn Féin colleagues for giving me a chance to speak briefly on it. I would like to pay my respects to Alan Murphy, his family and friends. Last Friday, Alan died not very far from where we sit tonight. It is another tragic loss of life which can be put down completely to the failures of this Government and the Fianna Fáil Governments in their total abandonment of social housing programmes.

There are approximately 90,000 individuals on social housing waiting lists around the country. In July 2015, the figure on the Dublin City Council housing list stood at over 42,000 people, including almost 16,500 children, which equates to 21,592 applicants. In my constituency of Dublin Bay North, there is an astonishing 5,733 individuals and families urgently seeking houses in areas such as Artane, Coolock, Killester, Raheny, Darndale, Beaumont, Marino, Clontarf and Kilbarrack. Last week in this Chamber, I pleaded with my constituency colleague, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, to start some sort of emergency housing programme but once again it seems that plea fell on deaf ears. The other council I represent, Fingal County Council has 8,400 applicants urgently seeking housing in its catchment area. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has trumpeted the fact that he gave almost €20 million to Fingal County Council to build houses in the first phase of a programme to build 1,376 housing units. This is just a tiny drop in the ocean compared to the many families I represent who are waiting eight, nine, ten or, indeed, 11 years for housing.

There are over 150 individuals sleeping rough this very night while the Minister sits there talking to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coffey. In August of this year, the number of persons in emergency accommodation continued to rise. There are now 3,732 adults, including 1,496 children. I met the Ombudsman for Children a few months ago, in the late summer, to raise the concerns I have week in, week out when I meet homeless children, for whose rehousing the Minister is totally responsible.

The Minister spoke a few weeks ago about this crisis being a perfect storm. How did it happen? It is almost like an act of God. Somehow, in 2015 all of these factors came together to create this incredible situation that Deputy Ellis and my colleagues here have so eloquently outlined. A key element in this perfect storm is the Minister, who 15 months ago outlined to me steps he would take to try to address the situation.

The Minister has not implemented one of those steps.

Colleagues referred to modular housing. I went to look at the exhibition of modular housing, as did Deputy Ellis. Some people would say it can provide a very tiny response to the crisis we are facing. However, I do not think so. That is not the way forward. Why would we spend €80,000 to €90,000 on building a modular house with materials that are not fit for our climate, with the forthcoming cold and damp winter, when we could build a house? The Minister could build a house and start direct action. He could declare a housing emergency. Why will he not declare a housing emergency and have a Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Act on housing? Fine Gael will not permit him to do so. He is a prisoner and he will continue to be a prisoner for the next two or three months.

The only solution to this situation is a general election. Let us have a general election, in which this will be a key issue, and change this rotten Government. Let us get rid of it and have a new Government with Members from this side of the House, which will declare a housing emergency, immediately introduce rent controls and deal with the other issues. It can be done. There is no use in the Minister waving his hands. It is not a perfect storm. The Minister is the key actor and he has not done his stuff.

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Alan Kelly)

I move amendment No. 2:

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

“notes that the economic downturn and contraction in construction activity, which began in 2008 and continued for a number of years, have created a significant shortfall in housing supply generally, including social housing;

recognises the high priority which the Government has afforded to increasing housing supply, including through its Construction 2020 strategy;

acknowledges the Government’s on-going commitment to ensure that a full range of options is available to distressed borrowers and to keep as many people as possible in their homes;

welcomes the decisive action taken by the Government in relation to mortgage arrears, including the package of measures announced in May 2015 to provide additional support to early engagement borrowers, raise awareness and improve take-up of insolvency measures, improve the operation of the Courts Service of Ireland and the support available to borrowers through this process, and improve schemes to try wherever possible to keep people in their home, including changes made to the mortgage-to-rent scheme to enable more properties to qualify for the scheme;

recognises that social housing is a key priority for the Government and, in particular, welcomes the:

— additional €2.2 billion in funding announced for social housing in budget 2015;

— Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020, published in November 2014, targeting the provision of over 110,000 social housing units in the period to 2020, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units, at a cost of €3.8 billion, and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the housing assistance payment, HAP, and rental accommodation scheme, RAS, to address the needs of all households on the housing waiting list, with flexibility to meet potential future demand;

— implementation of the HAP scheme, a key component of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, which is also progressing at pace, with almost 4,000 households now in receipt of HAP across the 13 local authority areas involved, and the intention to expand the operation of the scheme to a further cohort of local authorities in the coming months;

— significant progress made in bringing vacant local authority housing stock back into use, with over 2,300 vacant units funded in 2014 and a further 2,500 units targeted for 2015;

— enhanced role for approved housing bodies, AHBs, in the provision and management of new social housing under the Social Housing Strategy 2020;

— important contribution made by the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, in the delivery of social housing, sourcing almost 1,400 houses and apartments for social housing use by local authorities and approved housing bodies and investing some €40 million in making these properties ready for social housing;

— recent amendments made to Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 mechanism by the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015, which will mean that in future, the focus of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 will be on the delivery of completed social housing units; and

— innovative funding mechanisms provided for in the Social Housing Strategy 2020, including the progress being made on site selection under the proposed €300 million programme of investment in social housing via the public private partnership model, which is expected to deliver 1,500 housing units;

welcomes the multi-stranded Government response to the homelessness issue, in particular the:

— key measures identified in the Government’s implementation plan on the State’s response to homelessness, May 2014, and in the action plan to address homelessness, December 2014;

— whole-of-Government approach to dealing with the complexity of homelessness, involving all key State agencies concerned, including the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government; Social Protection; Health; Children and Youth Affairs; the Health Service Executive; Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; the Irish Prison Service; and local authorities;

— supports provided for the critically important role performed by non-governmental organisations, NGOs, working with homeless persons and helping to deal with the multi-faceted issues that homeless households face;

— increase of over 20% in funding provided for homeless services in 2015, and the commitment of the Government to provide additional funding, where necessary;

— excellent work being done through the tenancy sustainment protocol operating in conjunction with Threshold in Dublin and Cork, with over 1,200 of the 4,000 cases supported with increased rent supplement limits arising from engagement under this protocol arrangement, with active plans to extend the protocol to Galway city; and

— proactive approach being taken to the exploration of further steps to fast-track the delivery of additional social housing to meet the needs of homeless households, including through a programme of modular housing;

notes the important role that the private rental sector plays in the overall housing market, with approximately one in five households now privately renting their homes, and in that regard:

— acknowledges that the continued increase in rents is a cause for concern, with the latest Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, figures showing that housing rents were 6.4% higher in the second quarter of this year, while apartment rents increased by 7.6%;

— accepts that a shortage of housing supply is at the heart of rising rents and that the Government is addressing this on a number of fronts, including through its Construction 2020 strategy;

— acknowledges that the housing supply shortfall will take time to address fully but welcomes the signs of recovery, particularly the increase in the number of house completions in 2014 to 11,016 units nationally - an increase of 33% on the 2013 figure - and the 16% increase in completions in the first seven months of 2015 compared to the corresponding period in 2014; and

— notes that the regulation of rent raises many complex economic and legal issues and that in any consideration of such measures, it is critical that they are balanced and have the desired effect on the rental market, while being fair to landlords and tenants alike;

notes, in respect of rent supplement, that:

— the scheme plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 recipients at a cost of €298 million in 2015; over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year, of which almost 4,300 are in Dublin, showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers under the scheme;

— a review of the rent limits undertaken by the Department of Social Protection earlier this year found that the impact of increasing limits at a time of constrained supply will increase costs disproportionately for the Exchequer with little or no new housing available to recipients; and

— continued flexibility will be applied through the national framework for tenancy sustainment for both existing customers of the scheme and new applicants, under which a tenant’s circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis, and rents can be increased above prescribed limits as appropriate; this flexible approach has already assisted approximately 4,000 households throughout the country to retain their rented accommodation;

welcomes the additional safeguards included in the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013 which already provide the Courts Service of Ireland with a very broad margin of discretion when dealing with repossession applications in respect of principal residences;

notes that the extension of the living city initiative beyond the original pilot cities of Limerick and Waterford, to also include the cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Kilkenny, followed from a comprehensive, independent ex-ante cost benefit analysis, in line with the Government’s commitment to evidence based policy-making, and that this initiative is targeting particular areas of these six cities which are most in need of regeneration, and is available to owner occupiers and certain commercial premises only; and

welcomes the steps taken in 2015 to centralise the funding for domestic violence services under the aegis of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.”

I thank the Deputies for proposing the motion and I welcome the fact that Members have raised the issue of housing and homelessness again. I understand their concern in highlighting the challenges faced in dealing with these complex issues and the legacy of under-supply. It gives me the opportunity to reiterate my, and this Government's, commitment to tackling these difficult and significant challenges. I fully acknowledge the importance of dealing with housing and homelessness. It is my number one priority as Minister. It is something I am personally committed to and we are doing our utmost to tackle it through massively increased funding, a number of key policy and legislative responses and, most importantly, through direct action, which I will outline to Members.

Increasing the supply of housing is an absolute priority for this Government, myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey. We have prioritised the economy and employment, and breaking the 10% unemployment target is a great success. However, to sustain this and to remain competitive, it is accepted that we must rapidly increase the supply of housing to meet current demand. One thing is certain - we are not returning to the boom-bust cycle that beset the property and construction sector in the past. We cannot go back to the artificial and unsustainable property bubble that has contributed to the problems of the residential market in Ireland today, which is not operating at equilibrium, with demand far out-stripping supply. This Government is committed to resolving the problems in the housing sector. That means every household in Ireland will have access to secure, good quality housing suited to their needs at an affordable price in a sustainable community. Clearly, that will not happen immediately and will take time, but the Government is absolutely determined to deal with this crisis in as short a time as possible.

The root cause of the current social housing crisis is without doubt the policy decisions by previous Fianna Fáil Governments to cut massively the construction of social housing and effectively to privatise the provision of social housing through the explosion in the use of rent supplement, which was of significant benefit to their property developer friends. When this toxic combination of lack of social housing supply, lack of construction activity and a system of providing social housing through using private rented accommodation was confronted with rapidly increasing rents in recent years, the result is the homelessness crisis which this Government is now doing its utmost to deal with. The State, through this Government's Social Housing Strategy 2020, has returned to its central role in the provision of social housing through a resumption of building on a significant scale, putting in place financially sustainable mechanisms to meet current and future demand for social housing supports and to ensure value for money for the taxpayer, while respecting, to the greatest extent possible, the preferences of individual households.

While jobs and recovery are the best ways to help people to meet their housing needs, the Government is committed to helping those who cannot support themselves and has set out a plan of action to do so under the Social Housing Strategy 2020. In addition, we have supported that by committing a mixture of capital and current funding of €2.2 billion for social housing in budget 2015 and have committed €2.9 billion in capital funding to 2021 under the capital plan. These are not vague references to using the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund to invest in social housing, such as those that have been put forward from some quarters, but solid, direct, straight financial commitments.

The social housing strategy is about building sustainable communities. The strategy is a comprehensive response to the need for social housing and targets the provision of over 110,000 social housing units to 2020, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the housing assistance payment and the rental accommodation scheme. This will address the needs of the households on the housing waiting list, with flexibility to meet potential future demand.

Of course, all the commitments made in the strategy, both in terms of targets and funding availability, must materialise in new projects. This is the surest way that our citizens will see we are delivering on our promises. I have made the funding available and have ensured that allocations and project approvals have been made. Following on from the strategy, I announced provisional funding allocations totalling €1.5 billion for all local authorities to meet an ambitious delivery target of 22,882 social housing units to 2017. To date in 2015 some €493 million has been allocated to local authorities and approved housing bodies for the construction and acquisition of over 2,900 units. In addition, over €91 million worth of housing investment across a range of housing schemes to bring vacant social housing units back into productive use and to improve housing for people with disabilities, as well as retrofitting homes to improve energy efficiency, was announced in May last.

All of the details on a local authority by local authority basis can be found on my Department's website. I urge all Deputies to be aware of and familiar with the targets, projects and funding for their areas and to work with and support their local authorities to ensure early advancement and delivery of these projects. Local authority elected councillors have a key part to play in ensuring social housing is delivered. The Part VIII process under the planning Act is an important local government function relating to enabling public participation and consultation in the development of local authority projects, including in the social housing arena. The Part VIII process can be conducted within a four month timeframe, but can sometimes take five to six months or more for larger or more complex proposals. I am examining the scope to streamline further the consultation process for the advancement of social housing projects, balancing both delivery and the need to get the public's feedback on projects that will be in place for a long period of time.

The funding provided to bring vacant and boarded-up social housing units back into use is a notable example of the social housing strategy's focused approach, which is needed as we move forward. There has been significant investment to tackle the issue of boarded-up units and to get them tenanted. This is delivering results. Over 2,300 units were delivered in 2014 and another 1,135 units have already been delivered in 2015. There will be more. Given the success of the programme and the high demand for social housing, I have recently made funding available for an additional 1,447 eligible units. This is in addition to the 1,000 target set out in the strategy.

However, I have been clear in my message to local authorities that they must in the first instance work towards minimising the number of their homes that are left vacant and require refurbishment, by applying good management practices to their housing stock for the benefit of those on the social housing lists.

Local authorities will not find me wanting when it comes to funding to assist them in delivering as many voids as they can possibly turn around. All of these measures will provide real homes for real people. In addition, I am glad to note that real jobs will be created and sustained as a result of this investment throughout the country, given that all 31 local authority areas were included in the announcements.

Another area of progress on the supply side includes the development of a significant public private partnership project for social housing. The model to be employed is new to the social housing area and has been very successful in the education and health sectors. Work on the PPP is at an advanced stage and is being carried out by my Department and other relevant stakeholders. This will bring 1,500 social housing units on stream. Work has also commenced on the development of the strategic housing fund, with €400 million of public investment which will channel private finance to approved housing bodies for the acquisition and development of social housing. I expect this to bring 2,000 social housing units on stream. The housing assistance payment, HAP, is a key component of the social housing strategy and is progressing at pace. There are now some 4,000 households in receipt of HAP across 13 local authority areas.

NAMA continues to play an important role in the delivery of social housing, having delivered almost 1,400 houses and apartments to local authorities and approved housing bodies for social housing use. NAMA continues to work closely with my Department, the Housing Agency, local authorities and approved housing bodies to ensure that its commitments on social housing are delivered. As regards delivery of social housing in the coming years, NAMA is committed to and is firmly on track to deliver 4,500 new residential units in the greater Dublin area by the end of 2016. It is worth noting that, in 2014, NAMA funded more than 40% of total new housing output across the four Dublin local authorities.

While the activity in terms of social housing supply is clear, delivery takes time. We are doing everything in our power to increase the pace of delivery, given the low base we started from, but it is a challenge. The overall lack of supply in all housing has put extreme pressure on social housing and the private rental market, manifesting in a very serious homelessness issue. A range of actions is being taken to secure a ring-fenced supply of accommodation for homeless households and to mobilise the necessary supports in order to deliver on the Government's targets. These measures have been identified in the Government's implementation plan on the State's response to homelessness of May 2014 and in the action plan to address homelessness of December 2014.

Budget 2015 confirmed €55.5 million in section 10 Exchequer funding for homeless services managed by housing authorities, an increase of over 20% on the amount made available for allocation in 2014. I might point out that the figure proposed by both Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil last year was the sum total of zero, hardly appropriate for the current situation. The Government is fully committed to prioritising homelessness, not just through increased funding for homeless services but by also exploring innovative options for addressing emergency accommodation needs, such as the potential for modular housing to be used. Indications are that all key stakeholders reacted positively to the recent Dublin City Council modular housing demonstration project and I have asked the city council to develop the proposal further as regards unit numbers, costs, timescales and so on. It is envisaged that significant progress will be made on this initiative in the coming months.

These plans represent a whole-of-Government approach to dealing with homelessness. The implementation of measures identified in these plans is being overseen by a group of senior officials drawn from key State agencies dealing with homelessness and the associated issues of housing, welfare, health care and many other issues. The issues surrounding homelessness are multifaceted and, as such, require a multi-agency approach. I note the very important work carried out by NGOs in this regard. Preventing more people falling into homelessness is clearly an urgent objective and requires a range of actions and for various stakeholders to contribute towards homelessness prevention. In this regard, the tenancy sustainment services funded by many housing authorities, the public awareness campaign being implemented by the Private Residential Tenancies Board and the Department of Social Protection's interim tenancy sustainment protocol and national tenancy sustainment framework are all working to keep people out of homelessness. Ultimately, supply is the answer but while supply is being ramped up in the interim, I am examining any and all potential solutions. I will ensure that if changes to planning and procurement procedures are required, they will be made.

While the Government recognises its key role in terms of social housing and has returned the State to its correct position in the context of supply, it is very important to view the housing market or housing system in its totality. In this regard, the Government recognised the need for a significant increase in market housing. In response to the challenges faced in this area, the Government's Construction 2020 strategy, which was published in May 2014, clearly set out a cross-Government plan of action to address issues in the property and construction sectors, in particular, to ensure that any critical bottlenecks that might impede the sector in meeting the forecasted residential demand are addressed. The Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, has been given special responsibility for housing, planning and co-ordination of the Construction 2020 strategy. Under Construction 2020, we have targeted a return to a sustainable proportion of GDP for the sector, that is, 10%, from the low of 5% in 2012, an increase in construction jobs by up to 60,000 and an increase in output to the 25,000 houses required annually. In terms of meeting the 25,000 housing target, while we are coming from a very low base, it is moving in the right direction. We are moving from 8,000 house completions in 2013 to 11,016 in 2014. At the end July, we were at 6,745 units, an increase of 16% on the first seven months of 2014. Importantly, planning permissions granted are seeing significant growth. In the first half of 2015, planning permissions were granted for 6,165 houses and apartments, representing a 92% increase compared with the same period of 2014. Of that, 3,987 units, which is 64% of planning permissions granted, were in the greater Dublin area of Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.

In order to stimulate housing supply, the Minister, Deputy Noonan, is implementing a number of key policies and initiatives, such as the introduction of the real estate investment trust, REIT, tax regime encouraging large-scale investment in the commercial and residential property markets, which is vital in regard to removing much of the overhang of half-completed properties, particularly throughout the greater Dublin area. There was also the launch in May of the Living City initiative, which is a targeted tax incentive to bring life back into the heart of the historic city centres of Limerick, Waterford, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Dublin. We have also extended the home renovation incentive to rental properties, thereby incentivising the upgrade of the housing stock.

While there are signs of increased output of housing, it does take time and the under-supply is affecting the market. The Government is, therefore, examining additional measures to increase supply even further. In this regard, it is important that any measures taken have the desired impact and represent value for money for taxpayers.

As housing issues go, rising rents are most definitely a concern and giving certainty to tenants - and indeed landlords - is something I want to do. According to the most recent PRTB statistics published last week, on 23 September, we are seeing significant increases in rents both in Dublin and nationally. Ultimately, a shortage of supply is at the heart of rising rents. It is impossible to divorce the two but the Government is addressing this on a number of fronts. As I mentioned, Construction 2020 in particular is aimed at addressing supply issues. Of course, I acknowledge that increasing supply to predicted requirements will take a number of years to have full effect so, in the meantime, a balanced set of measures is required. Regulation of rent raises many complex economic and legal issues and we have to be satisfied that any measures proposed are balanced and have the desired effect on the rental market, while being fair to landlords and tenants alike. I have been clear in my intention with regard to rent certainty. Ultimately, any decision in regard to rent certainty is a matter for Government. I will be bringing forward proposals to the Government for consideration in the very near future.

While not under my remit, rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 recipients. Rather than providing for a blanket increase on rent supplement limits, which will not increase availability of supply, the Department of Social Protection's preventative policy allows for flexibility in assessing customers' individual accommodation needs through the national tenancy sustainment framework. Community welfare service staff have a statutory discretionary power to award or increase a supplement for rental purposes, for example, when dealing with applicants who are at risk of losing their tenancy or in danger of homelessness. That is being done and will continue to be done. I agree with the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, on this matter: introducing a blanket increase for rent supplement will not on its own resolve the problems facing the private rental market.

Planning is a key element of the residential supply process and, as we committed, the Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015 was passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas before the summer recess and the Act commenced with effect from 1 September. It contains a number of important changes aimed at increasing housing supply, including the retrospective application of reduced development contribution charges. The new legislation will enable local authorities to retrospectively implement reductions of development charges in respect of existing but uncommenced planning permissions, with the aim of improving the economic viability of new housing development; includes new and clear Part V arrangements which aim to enhance the economic viability of developments, maximising the opportunity for the delivery of social housing units and securing the principle of integrated mixed tenure developments. Importantly, the practice of developers making cash payments in lieu of social housing is no longer an option under the new legislation; there is a new vacant site levy on lands suitable for housing but not coming forward for development. The levy will start people thinking about what they do with their sites, especially where there is significant demand.

The issue of finance is crucial and presents a significant impediment to housing supply. The Government has made a significant move to address this issue by putting in place the €500 million home building joint venture between the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, and KKR and things are happening on that front. The joint venture, named Activate Capital, will be financed through a €325 million investment from the ISIF - its biggest single investment to date - and €175 million investment from KKR. It will lend on a commercial basis to residential development projects, providing developers with loans for up to 90% of the total financing requirement, with the developer required to fund the additional 10%. This will allow projects that are currently stalled to move ahead, with the ISIF earning an appropriate commercial return.

Another key objective of Construction 2020 is increasing the numbers employed in the construction sector and ensuring the right skills and training are in place to deliver those 25,000 units annually. CSO figures show the construction sector grew by 18.5% in the past year and at the end of quarter 2 there were 126,000 employed in the sector. These are positive developments, but we are well aware that significant challenges remain which will take time to resolve.

A legacy of the boom years is the number of people that have struggled to meet mortgage repayments. The Government has taken action on mortgage arrears, including the package of measures announced in May 2015 to provide additional support to borrowers and to ensure that, wherever possible, people are kept in their home. Included in the new measures were changes made to the mortgage-to-rent scheme operated by my Department to enable more properties to qualify for the scheme. In that regard, I am pleased to report that since the package was announced, significant progress has been made and we have seen an increase in activity under the scheme in recent months. For example, from 1 July to the end of August, 11 units became fully operational and 71 units received full funding approval from my Department. During the same period in 2014, two units became operational and four received full funding approval. There is now a total of 116 mortgage-to-rent transactions completed, up from 102 in May, of which 83 are fully operational.

In addition, the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, has been advancing the voluntary code of practice in regard to tenancies affected by receivership and repossession. This is an important initiative aimed at protecting tenants who, through no fault of their own, find themselves at risk of losing their tenancy at very short notice. The voluntary code of practice is due to be considered by the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland by the end of this month, following which a broader discussion will take place between the PRTB and other stakeholders with a view to concluding the code.

The housing system in Ireland was broken. Where we had enormous supply and a totally unsustainable model, we were left with minimal supply, particularly of social housing, and pent-up demand and a major reliance on private rented accommodation. As this Government's economic policies began to work and as more and more people took up employment here, the demand for all types of housing continued to increase. At the same time, the vulnerable in society who find it difficult to source and fund their own accommodation are becoming squeezed. The Government's response has been clear, with a plan and policies to get the construction and residential sector up and running and a funded plan to deliver the social housing units required. In the period while delivery is ramping up, homelessness is my number one priority. I am determined to try everything and anything I can do to help the people and families who find themselves in this awful situation.

I again thank Members for raising and highlighting these issues and I hope that everyone in the House can set politics aside, contribute constructively and work together on this serious issue.

Deputy Michael P. Kitt

I am sharing time with Deputy Barry Cowen.

I am glad to have the opportunity to say a few brief words on this motion. Not only have we a serious housing crisis, it is the worst housing crisis since the 1930s based on what I have heard of the situation at that time. We have an increase of 383% in the number of homeless families since 2012, just three years ago. Families have been forced out of their homes due to the home repossession crisis and spiralling costs of rent around the country.

The Minister has said that many of the solutions to the housing crisis are not part of his responsibility, but I must ask why he cannot bring together the people who have responsibility. The question must be answered as to why everything is not within his responsibility. He said the issues are complex, but they are not that complex and many previous Ministers have held responsibility for the environment, local government and housing. I was a Member of a previous Dáil with the late Jimmy Tully, a Labour Party Minister, who promoted house construction and took full responsibility for housing. We must have that kind of investment now, because we have had under-investment in building and construction for some time and families have nowhere to go. Every Deputy is aware there are 5,000 people in emergency accommodation and 1,500 children homeless. We need more housing. The ESRI has said we need 25,000 houses a year and that we need bedsits for the significant numbers of single people looking for housing. It says we must consider land that is not being used. The Minister must investigate this.

There has been significant talk about the refurbishment of local authority housing. We need action on this now. We are told that some 2,600 local authority houses are empty, so there is an obvious need for action now. I commend Threshold on its booklet, Dublin Tenancy Protection Services - One Year Preventing Homelessness. I also commend the Simon Community on its booklet, Changing the Forecast - Responding to the Homeless and Housing Crisis. These bodies must be commended on what they are doing and the strong statements they are making. Focus Ireland also set up action teams in 2012, when an average of eight new families were presenting as homeless in Dublin every month. This increased to 40 families per month in 2014 and has increased to from 65 to 70 per month in the first half of 2015. This means that more than two new families are becoming homeless every day. This is how serious the situation is in Dublin and we have seen reports of the deaths of two people who were homeless very near to the gates of the Dáil.

I would like to mention the situation in County Galway. I share the concerns of many there at the increasing number of people on social housing waiting lists in Galway. The recent figures show a 65% rise in the housing waiting list figures for Galway County Council and we have more than 3,000 families on the housing waiting lists for the county. I understand that in Galway city, the number on the waiting list is 4,000. Whether one lives on the west or east side of the city, there are long waiting lists for housing. Families cannot afford to pay the escalating prices in the private rental sector. Many of them are stuck in mortgage debt, but the banks will not deal with them. This is one of the crucial issues they face.

Rent supplement should be increased in order to keep families in their homes.

It would be better than providing lodgings for families, which I understand is costing €3.7 million for the first quarter of 2015. Apart from the massive cost to the State, emergency hotel and bed and breakfast accommodation is completely inappropriate as it is disruptive for families and children. These children may have to move from their schools as a result. The limits on the rent supplement are too low for people to secure accommodation. Figures from daft.ie show an increase in rents of 8.2% since this time last year. In Dublin the rents are up by 11%. This is the situation people are finding themselves in.

I would like to see more support for the voluntary housing sector. I have seen organisations such as Clúid and Respond! do great work in Galway, providing good quality houses. There was an application from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for houses in the town of Ballinasloe, which was approved. Let us be clear; this is just part of the whole issue. There is now a need for investment. If that does not happen, there will unfortunately be a further increase in homelessness.

Deputy Barry Cowen

I compliment my colleagues for tabling this motion and offering an opportunity for the issue to be debated. It is incumbent on the Government to put forward a special debate to address the crisis in this whole area.

I have listened attentively to what the Minister has to say. He talks about the legacy of under-supply, which is the number one priority. He wants to increase supply and does not want to go back to the boom and bust cycle. He says that demand outweighs supply and that he is committed to solving the housing issue. He is in the final months of a five-year term in government and the root cause is still Fianna Fáil.

The Minister is talking about seeking financially stable mechanisms to achieve success. He talks about the long-term 2020 strategy, which has been increased by one year today. The real reason for that is that there has been no progress this year at all. He has admitted to 493 new units this year, with 2,900 committed - I do not know whether there is permission for them or whether they are in the process of planning.

Towards the end of the Minister's speech he spoke about homelessness and the action that is necessary immediately. He stated he will examine any and all potential solutions and will "ensure that if changes to the planning and procurement procedures are required they will be made." This is something that should have been done long ago. He talks about rents and agrees that something should be done to create rent certainty. The Minister made that commitment last February and is making it again tonight with no action to back it up. He has made a commitment that he will do nothing on rent supplement, saying it is not in his remit. There is obvious disagreement between the Minister, Deputy Kelly, and his partners in coalition; it is not something that is going to be contemplated by his partners. The Government is, therefore, not going to risk going to the country too quickly when it needs longer to see if it can resurrect its fortunes and survive until next March.

All in all, to somebody looking for the real and effective solutions that are required at this time, that speech is nothing short of gobbledegook. In order for this debate to be real and meaningful and to have some effect or some prospect of solutions, the first thing the Minister needs to acknowledge, realise and admit is that all his policies, programmes and initiatives over the last five years have not worked. If they were working, would there be 130,000 applicants on the waiting lists throughout the country? The Minister has told the public there are 90,000 but we obtained figures recently that prove there are 130,000 applicants, which could well be 300,000 people.

Deputy Sandra McLellan

It could.

Deputy Barry Cowen

There are 1,500 children living in emergency accommodation. Previous speakers have explained that three families a day are going into emergency accommodation. Some 707 families nationally are in emergency accommodation today. If that says nothing else, it says that whatever the Minister is doing, "It just ain't working". He should stop the pretence, admit the failure and respond to this crisis with emergency legislation that might resurrect his fortunes and resolve the difficulties that exist. It is the greatest and gravest issue we have all faced over the last 18 months to two years. I lost my temper with the Minister's predecessors, former Deputy Phil Hogan and Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. I thought that might spur the Government into action.

We have made suggestions and proposals. I have issued policy documents in the areas of housing and home ownership, rent certainty and all issues surrounding rent. I do not say I have a monopoly on solutions. It is my duty and obligation, as a Member of this House and as an Opposition spokesperson in this area, to put forward real, credible, constructive alternatives and proposals. The Minister can steal them if he wants. It is the job of this forum to find resolutions to the issues that exist in our constituencies. Those issues have formed this perfect storm, as the Minister calls it. We have all heard of perfect storms in recent years, whether here two years ago or in the states on a regular basis. What follows a perfect storm? A state of emergency. The Minister will admit to a perfect storm and talk about all the issues that contrive to create one, but he will not bring forward emergency solutions to deal with what it leaves behind.

As I said before, what is lacking in all the Minister's responses, speeches, presentations and commentary on this issue is urgency. There is no concept of urgency, visible or otherwise. Some 2,600 local authority homes are vacant. There was a lot of fanfare in Heuston Station about proposals for capital spending over the next five, ten or 15 years, I do not know which, but €29 billion is being talked about, supplemented by a further €14 billion from the semi-State sector. That is fine and dandy and might win an election two terms away, but it does very little to address the immediacy of the problem that 2,600 homes are vacant.

The Minister wants to live up to the expectation he and the Taoiseach gave the rest of us when they said that money was not an obstacle in rectifying vacant homes, yet it most definitely is an obstacle. I have proved that €1.6 million was cut from local authorities year on year. If he wants to really do something about this, the Minister should come back in here in a month and say: "problem solved, money given, job done".

I heard the Minister discussing NAMA. The dividend from NAMA has been nothing short of useless. I will tell the Minister about the dividend from NAMA. His line Minister for Finance and his Government, in which he has collective responsibility along with everyone else around the table, has forced NAMA into a quicker wind-down. Some 11,000 residential units with full planning permission were sold in this city this year by NAMA to private developers in job lots. What does that say about a social dividend from NAMA? What does it say about the social conscience of the Government or anybody in it? It leaves a lot to be desired. I refer to what NAMA can and cannot do. I will tell the Minister what it is doing. It is lending to private developers who are on its books to the tune of 4%.

The Minister talked about the great thing he has done in putting forward funding of €500 million made up of €375 million from the National Pension Reserve Fund and €125 million from a hedge fund in the USA. Now they are coming in to piggy-back on the profits as well. He failed to say what rate they will be charging - 14% to 16% - while NAMA, an arm of the State, is charging 4%. The Government is borrowing on a daily basis at 1% to meet the demands of public services. He thinks he has all the answers and the solutions and that the private sector is going to help him.

Of course, it is a dirty word for somebody in my party to talk about what the building sector can do for this economy. The Government thinks it can win an election in six months' or six weeks' time based on what happened five years ago. That is not going to wash with the public. In the context of whether the Minister wants to do something serious about private supply, the Government looked at the licensed and hotel trade and I commended it when it reduced VAT from 13% to 9%. That had the desired effect. The building sector is asking the Government to do something similar. It should look at the development levies which do not meet the market conditions today and instruct local authorities to reduce them to levels that are compatible and allow builders to compete with the NAMA rate of 4%.

The banks are not lending. They have let the Minister down again. He did not let them down when he allowed a process by which many more people could be dumped into homelessness and thrown into circumstances of over-hyped rates of rent. He gave the banks a veto and allowed what I describe to occur for the past two years.

This Legislature amended the insolvency legislation and eventually took heed of what was being said, not only by me and other Members but also by outside experts, namely, that the Government should at least allow the courts the option of adjudicating on decisions of banks in regard to refusing resolutions in respect of distressed mortgages. We went away for the summer believing that legislation was in place but I was told last week by the Courts Service that it is not in a position to adjudicate independently because the rules within the court system have not been amended. Who is responsible for that? Is it the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister for Finance or the Minister for Justice and Equality? It is the coalition Government and every single member of the parties that comprise it. I have no doubt that they, too, are receiving representations in their clinics from people in distress. The amendment, which the Government was two and half years late in bringing forward, has not been enacted, despite the fact that this Dáil passed the legislation. That is an absolute disgrace. I want an answer to this before this debate concludes. I again ask the Minister to please allow reasonable time to debate this issue and the concrete proposals from my colleagues on this side of the House, and perhaps even from members of the Government parties. If one in two of my representations concerns housing, it is the same throughout the country.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I am sharing time with Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan.

Often one hears people talking about victimless crimes. When this Government talks about the crisis of homelessness, it does so as if it were a "criminalless" crime. The impression is given that while the massive crime of homelessness exists, nobody really knows who is responsible. We know who are the victims of the housing crisis. They include the 1,500 children and thousands of adults in emergency accommodation, the tens of thousands of people who are now on the precipice of homelessness and whom we all meet through our work, the 100,000 families on the social housing waiting list and the people trapped because of rents or mortgages they cannot afford to pay. However, we also know who are the criminals. The Government's crocodile tears on all this do not wash. The Government has made political choices that have resulted in the tsunami of homelessness affecting the country at present. The leading homelessness charities acknowledged that the primary cause is the cut to the rent allowance. At the time of the cut, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, said there would be no case of homelessness due to the changes. That did not prove to be the case. We should examine the choices the Government continues to make in terms of not using the NAMA properties. One in eight hotels in this State is owned by NAMA and could easily be refurbished and used as decent emergency accommodation. Most crucially, the Government is tied to the idea that it is necessary to incentivise the private sector to build homes. This is achieved at double what it would cost the State to invest directly, as we heard last night.

There are different political choices that can be made. These involve breaking with the logic that ordains that the market rules and that only the market can provide housing. The State should become involved immediately by refurbishing the NAMA hotels and using them to provide decent emergency accommodation. Rent controls linked to average incomes should be introduced immediately and there should be a reversal of the rent allowance cuts until those controls are put in place. There should be a writing down of mortgages to affordable levels. Most importantly, we need investment to clear the housing list by 2018. Some €10 billion, if invested directly by the State and representing the cheapest approach by far, could build 100,000 homes, create tens of thousands of jobs, wipe out our housing problem and transform the economy in the process. The Government will have to be forced into doing this. It will not volunteer to do so and will not do so out of the goodness of its heart.

There are lessons to be learned from the movement against water charges. I refer to the combination of mass protest and civil disobedience to force action. Homeless people and those on the precipice of homelessness are not just victims, they can be actors for justice and for the building of homes. I salute those who occupied the NAMA houses in west Dublin last week. They were an inspiration to all of us, including homeless people and those threatened with homelessness. I refer to the demand that people not leave their homes, refuse to give up their homes unless they have somewhere else to go, and occupy NAMA buildings, including NAMA hotels and houses, with a view to showing that the required resources exist. This movement should be tied to mass protests forcing and demanding immediate action on the part of the Government for what is now the number one political issue. Immediate change should be demanded.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan

All the individuals and organisations working with those with housing issues and who are homelessness say they have never seen circumstances such as those we are seeing today. We know from the figures the extent of the problem. I spend so much of my time, all day every day, taking calls about housing of one type or another. This is an emergency and more prompt and urgent action than has been evident to date is needed.

It is very definitely a complex issue but surely, one year after the tragic death of Jonathan Corrie, one year after the conference the Minister held in his Department, which was attended by me and by so many stakeholders, and after all the plans announced at that stage, we should be seeing an improvement. However, we are not; rather, we are seeing worsening circumstances. I will give some examples based on my experience of taking calls every day. An individual whom I will call John dialled the freephone number at 4.31 p.m. on Friday. Some 25 minutes later, he was still waiting. Of course, when he got through, just at 5 p.m., there were no beds left. Before leaving the office, I asked him whether he would be safe over the weekend and whether he had somewhere to put his sleeping bag. There are six-month delays in getting a key worker. It is longer for those without children.

Another example concerns people in their 60s who have been renting flats or apartments for 20 to 25 years. For various reasons, their landlords might be selling. Some of the elderly people are very vulnerable and face having to go to an emergency shelter or emergency accommodation. This is absolutely tragic. It reminds me of the song "Streets of London", which contains a line about carrying one's home in two carrier bags.

It is very difficult for those who make the journey into recovery. I understand the pressure to get people off the streets. However, one does not jeopardise people's recovery by putting them into unsuitable accommodation or hostels where particular individuals are still actively using substances. This completely backfires and there is a real possibility of relapse. We know the dangers that come with this.

Why are there still voids in local authority housing? Why are there still derelict sites and why are there still perfectly acceptable properties being left idle for many years? I saw the modular housing and was very impressed by that. It has great potential. I have a question on its cost. The various developers we met told us it would cost in the region of €50,000 to €60,000 but other figures are being quoted in the newspapers. I understand that city councillors in Dublin went to see modular housing over a year ago, in Glasgow I believe. Again, there was no urgency for us to start examining modular housing here. The Minister was at some of the openings in Dublin Central, including that of Peadar Kearney House, Fr. Scully House and, before that, Sean Treacy House, all of which comprise state-of-the-art housing. We know what can be done, and it is being done.

With regard to the figures, there are non-Irish people in need of housing who are being diverted from homelessness services to the new communities unit in the Department of Social Protection. They are not being formally processed. The figures for homelessness, therefore, are not true figures reflecting what is occurring on the ground. The Minister has been given the report and I hope he considers it.

I acknowledge the co-operation of Dublin City Council staff and the staff in Parkgate Street. However, the usual answer to a query on housing is that one's constituent is at position 540, 780 or 990 on the housing list and is, therefore, unlikely to be offered accommodation in the near future. That is the reality. That is the reply the housing authority is giving us.

Debate adjourned.

The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 30 September 2015.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Tuesday, 29 Sep 2015

Social Housing Policy: Motion [Private Members]

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 29 Sep 2015