Leaders' Questions

Deputy Micheál Martin

Just a year ago, the sad death of Jonathan Corrie sparked a huge outcry across the country and in Dáil Éireann. It was followed by a series of crisis meetings on homelessness and housing and declarations by Government that definitive interventions would be made to reverse the trend and improve the situation. A year on, those working at the coal face and those on the streets are clear about one thing. The homelessness crisis has deepened and got worse in the 12 months since the sad death of Jonathan Corrie. Those who are on the streets know that the Government's interventions and policy have failed to halt the deepening crisis. The number of people sleeping rough in Dublin is on the increase. It is also on the increase in Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway and across the country. I have pointed out to the Taoiseach time after time that the most shocking phenomenon and development of recent years has been the number of families with children losing their homes. This has been ongoing and has been shocking and distressing to many. Approximately 800 families with more than 1,500 children have, essentially, been made homeless. Approximately 70 to 80 families a month are losing their homes as opposed to 30 to 40 families last year.

One of the key issues over the past year has been the rent issue. Rents have increased by approximately 30% in this city alone. Many families have lost their homes because they could not pay the increased rents. The simplest of interventions would have assisted. Rent supplement needs to be increased. The Government's intervention has been too little too late and has no since of urgency or joined-up thinking. The plan for social housing will be approximately 1,000 houses short before the end of the year. There are 3,000 vacant local authority units across the country, which are still not ready for housing, and NAMA has no mandate to deliver social housing. Will the Government change its position and agree to increase rent supplement? Will NAMA be directed to build social housing as opposed to private housing?

The Taoiseach

One should not confuse the situation in so far as rough sleepers are concerned and the question of homelessness in general. There is a difference in the situation that applies to those on the streets. The fundamental problem is supply of accommodation, be it private or social accommodation, voided units or whatever. People are entitled to have access to warm, comfortable and properly insulated accommodation, which has not been the case, and a great deal of work has gone into dealing with this issue and quite a deal of progress has been made.

It is clear the supply problems are the crux of the issue. A targeted development contribution rebate scheme has been introduced in Dublin and Cork. New apartment guidelines to improve the viability of this type of development are contained in the Bill, which will be passed this week. There are amendments in the Bill to increase flexibility when dealing with the supply of housing in the strategic development zones. The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund will support the delivery of housing related infrastructure in large scale areas. This will also deal with the question of supply. NAMA aims to deliver 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020. As Deputy Martin is aware, the Government increased the current allocation for social housing by €69 million to €414 million. This funding will enable local authorities to secure accommodation for an additional 14,000 households. It is not as if they have not been given instructions or the facilities or finance to do it.

The current allocation for emergency accommodation for homeless people has been increased by €17 million. This will bring Exchequer support to €70 million, which is up 56% since 2014. On top of that, there is funding for 35,000 new social housing units, which are to be developed by the State. A new vacant site levy will be introduced to compel developers sitting on serviced and zoned lands in demand areas to develop their sites. We have reduced development contributions in the Dublin area because they were a real problem for contractors. There has also been a reduction in Part V planning obligations.

Last week I visited the Digital Hub campus to see the new development by Dublin City Council. This intervention will be significant for rough sleepers. Up to 150 beds will be available in pristine quarters. When a person goes into the building, he or she will be met courteously and properly and will also be registered. A facility with a doctor and a nurse will be available as will proper food. A locker will also be provided to each individual and clothes and garments will be washed. There are really good accommodation facilities being provided with beds for males and females and potential to expand if necessary. The intervention by the city council in this particular regard is one to be commended and it should mean that there will be no rough sleepers in Dublin this Christmas. I cannot speak for every individual, however, because some people want to be on the streets and are in very particular circumstances.

On the issue of families becoming homeless because of rent increases, stability has been brought to the area by the decision of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister for Finance. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill will be passed this week and this will provide a degree of stability to the sector. The situation on voided units being returned has been operating successfully. I understand there are some objections to modular housing units being put in place for 22 families. These units would provide them with warm, decent and comfortable accommodation. The Government is concerned with all of these matters.

There is no intention of increasing the rent subsidy. It is necessary to deal with the supply question. The Department of Social Protection provides assistance when dealing with individual cases where the issue is brought to its attention.

Deputy Micheál Martin

I asked the Taoiseach two simple questions. Will the Government increase rent supplement? He gave the answer at the end of a very long reply full of the best intentions-----

Deputy Barry Cowen

He went around the houses.

Deputy Micheál Martin

-----but there has been very little delivery on the ground. If one speaks to people from Threshold, FLAC, the Simon Community, Focus Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust or anyone else dealing with families, they will say that rent supplement is a key issue. It was a key issue 12 months ago. The Taoiseach spoke about stability being brought to the issue. What was going on for the past 12 months? Rents have gone up by 30%. Families who could not afford to pay those rents lost their homes because the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Kelly, did not intervene. There was a row going on between the Minister, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister, Deputy Kelly, for a full 12 months. What went on for the 12 months before that?

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

What went on for 15 years before that?

Deputy Micheál Martin

We have been pointing out to the Minister, the Tánaiste and the Government the effect of the Government's right wing market ideology in respect of rent supplement. The ideology that it cannot interfere meant the Taoiseach allowed families to lose their homes. That is an undeniable reality. The case-by-case approach has simply not worked because the problem has got worse. If the case-by-case scenario was working, what was 30 to 40 families losing their homes 12 months ago would not be 70 to 80 families losing their homes now. It is an absolute disgrace that the Taoiseach allowed the problem become a crisis through inaction and by failing to intervene early enough. He did not have a proper, clear solution.

My second question was if the Taoiseach would direct NAMA to build social houses. He states that NAMA will build 20,000 houses in the private market. There is a social dividend provided for in the legislation establishing NAMA.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Martin has gone way over time. Will he please put his question?

Deputy Micheál Martin

Surely if it is a supply issue, and we all agree supply is an issue, why not direct NAMA to start building social houses to deal with the crisis? The Taoiseach has allowed this crisis to escalate through lack of intervention and acknowledgement of the problem. The Government thought there was no problem a couple of years ago and allowed it to get to this stage.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

Fianna Fáil thought there was no problem ten and 12 years ago.

An Ceann Comhairle

I ask the Deputy to resume his seat.

Deputy Micheál Martin

There is no confusion between rough sleepers and the phenomenon of families losing their homes during the past three years, which has been one of the most shocking trends in the homelessness issue. Everyone is agreed on that point. What is equally shocking is the inaction in relation to it. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, has not stabilised the situation by any manner or means.

The Taoiseach

Deputy Martin has an allegiance to a particular philosophy that was always the hallmark of his party in government which was, in the main, responsible for what happened in the last number of years. He wants to throw money at every problem. If we were to decide to increase the rent subsidy, that would not improve the supply of housing by one unit. It would merely put more pressure-----

Deputy Micheál Martin

It might keep families in their homes. They are barely hanging in there at the moment.

The Taoiseach

No. It would merely put more pressure on the existing housing stock and make the situation worse.

Deputy Clare Daly

Worse for who?

People will still not be able to afford the rents.

(Interruptions).

Deputy Gerry Adams

Today, 1 December, is the one year anniversary of the death of Jonathan Corrie no more than 20 metres from this Chamber and within sight of the Dáil. Our thoughts today are with Jonathan's family and his loved ones. His death justifiably sparked outrage at the Government's inaction and failure to tackle the ongoing housing crisis. We heard lots of assurances from the Taoiseach and his Ministers that things would improve. The Minister with responsibility for housing, Deputy Alan Kelly, said the Government would end homeless by 2016 but since then the homelessness crisis has escalated, with chaos heaped upon chaos by this Government.

This morning the CEO of Dublin's Simon Community, Mr. Sam McGuinness, said that the homeless situation is going to get worse. Homelessness has increased by 80%, the number of children who are homeless has doubled, with 70 to 80 families per month becoming homeless. In Dublin alone there are over 1,500 children in emergency accommodation. That is 1,500 children who have nowhere to call home this Christmas. We are also witnessing the fastest level of rent increases since 2007, including in my constituency in Louth where rents have increased by 13.5% in the last 12 months. In Louth there are almost 5,000 people on the housing list.

The Government promised to build at least 1,000 social housing units this year. Reports indicate that just 20 social houses were built in the first half of the year and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, has conceded that there will be a mere 200 built in 2015. This is a disgrace and it is unfair. The Taoiseach must surely accept that there is a need to declare a housing emergency. Why does the Taoiseach not liaise with the European Commission to have the housing crisis declared a national emergency so the Government can speed up its procurement processes for the construction of social housing? It could then fund the construction of social housing outside the existing fiscal constraints. That is one way to resolve this crisis speedily. It is the Taoiseach's decision; why does he not opt for that?

The Taoiseach

Deputy Micheál Martin

They have gone up 30% in the meantime.

The Taoiseach

-----until the fourth anniversary of its introduction.

Deputy Willie O'Dea

How many extra months will that provide?

The Taoiseach

That gives a degree of stability to the rent sector. Second, even where a landlord has not increased the rent in the last 12 months, the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill currently going through the Oireachtas precludes landlords from increasing the rent beyond the market rate. Third, landlords cannot seek to set aside these measures by pricing in a rent increase to a level which is above the current market rate. If he or she does so, a tenant is quite entitled to take a case to the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB. The rent will remain at the current level until the board adjudicates on the matter.

Deputy Adams has a different solution. I note that Sinn Féin, in its housing proposals, would fund social housing with money from the National Pensions Reserve Fund, NPRF. That is Deputy Adams's answer.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

It is one answer. It is not the only one we have.

The Taoiseach

That is a commercial fund which requires a rate of return and to attempt to do something like that for social housing would be very risky indeed.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The Government used it to fund the water meters.

The Taoiseach

The Taoiseach

I do not accept Deputy Adams's assertion that the Government has failed.

Deputy Seán Crowe

It has been a huge success.

The Taoiseach

I accept that the Government has faced this challenge, which is unprecedented in terms of the scale of the collapse of the construction sector. We had no resources to deal with the many challenges that presented themselves.

Deputy Gerry Adams

There was money for the banks.

The Taoiseach

We are now in a much better position. I have just read out for Deputy Martin some of the things that have happened in the recent initiatives taken by the Government. I again remind Deputy Adams that the Government has already put €2.2 billion on the table for social housing.

Deputy Sean Fleming

In the next decade.

The Taoiseach

Instructions and directions have been given to local authorities. All the chief executives have been called together by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and his Minister of State. They have given instructions to get on with building the social housing for which they have been given money.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

They are not doing it.

Deputy Regina Doherty

Sinn Féin is in charge of Dublin City Council.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Cop on.

The Taoiseach

In addition, NAMA has been in consultation with the Minister for Finance. It expects to build 20,000 houses on its sites, with its contractors, for the private housing sector, which will improve the private housing stock, which is very much behind what is required, particularly in the larger cities. I do not accept the assertion made by Deputy Adams.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The numbers have doubled on this Government's watch.

The Taoiseach

We have set in place a range of initiatives, both at local authority level and through legislation, in dealing with the homeless and those who are becoming homeless, in terms of housing, voided units, modular units, social housing and private housing. It is now a matter for the sector to measure up and supply those. The resources and the facilities are in place.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan

I listened to the speeches from Paris yesterday. They were passionate and inspiring, and were saying all the right things. However, saying is one thing and doing is something else. We know that climate change is happening, we know that it is extremely dangerous and we know the negotiations have been going on for over 20 years. As there has been mainly talk the reality is very grim. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change tells us that, if we continue as we are, 50 million more people will be at risk of hunger by 2050, and the World Bank states that, in 15 years time, 100 million more are going to join those who are already in extreme poverty. When we look at the CO2 emissions in metric tonnes per capita, Uganda at 0.1, India at 1.2 and Ireland at 10.5.

We know those countries which contribute least to greenhouse gases are the most impacted by climate change, and they are already suffering conflict, hunger, desperate poverty and ill-health. We also know that it is human activities in the developed world, such as burning fossil fuels and emissions, that are the main causes of global warning. We have so much evidence of the devastating effects. Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that bold climate action is in the national interest of every single country represented but the submitted pledges are not enough to keep warming below 2°C and the EU's pledge of at least a 40% reduction is too low and should be 55%.

My question relates to finance. We made no contribution in 2015 to the Green Climate Fund and while we have pledged €2 million in the 2016 budget, there is nothing for subsequent years. The average EU pledge is $12 per capita, whereas ours translates to 50 cent. Was Ireland's contribution to the Green Climate Fund not discussed at Cabinet level before the Taoiseach went to Paris? Will we commit to the fund in line with pledges made by similar developed countries? Will we consider the climate justice fund which was recommended by the environment committee in 2013, especially as the Taoiseach himself committed to climate justice?

The Taoiseach

The situation that applied in Paris at the climate change meeting yesterday was unprecedented in its seriousness. It was very different to what happened in Copenhagen, which had not been as well planned or thought-out in terms of what is to happen. What was involved yesterday was the setting out of a road map for the future, led by the great powers of the world and the leaders of the governments. That road map is to be filled in over the next two weeks by the officials, the diplomats and the Ministers of the different governments in respect of the issues they point out as being of importance.

The Deputy mentioned a number of countries. I spoke to the former Uachtaráin, Mary Robinson, at the meeting. While she was not directly involved in the negotiations, as the Deputy knows, she is an ambassador for climate change. The former President's real priorities are climate justice, human rights and gender and education. I support that very strongly and referred to it in my contribution to the meeting.

It is important to state that Ireland has given €34 million in respect of public finance for climate change. We have signed on for the green fund and will increase our contributions to that over the coming years, as well as in respect of the developing countries. I make the point that, irrespective of how difficult the situation has been in the last number of years, Ireland, and in particular those who work in the different sectors and regions around the world, have put together a very high reputation in terms of the work our people do with the peoples of different countries, many of them in exceptionally difficult circumstances.

With regard to the Deputy's point about the changes that are coming in the next 50 years, it is important to note the population of the world is expected to grow to 10 billion. Those people have to be fed, so food security is of critical importance. There is a balance between what we can produce and how we can have the transfer of smart technology, in the agri-sector in particular, so that other countries can avail of this. To take the case of Syria, it has other problems due to the increase in temperature and the drought in recent years. Without any other conflict or brutal regime, people in their thousands have had to move from what were formerly food producing areas to cities because of the change in temperature. That is not unique to that country and applies in so many others as well.

We are committed to contributing to the green fund and committed to increasing our initial contribution over the coming years. As the economy improves and strengthens we will take those things into account.

Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan

I am not sure NGOs such as Trócaire, Oxfam and Friends of the Earth will take much heart from what the Taoiseach has just said. On Leaders' Questions some months ago, the Taoiseach said to me: "[W]e must challenge ourselves in measuring up and being recognised as a country that really is fulfilling obligations in respect of climate change". The one positive thing that came from what the Taoiseach was saying yesterday was that Ireland would be involved in legally binding agreements. However, that is not much if those agreements are diluted.

What is needed in the agreements is that human rights are integrated in all climate-related actions. We have to commit to food security, not just an increase in industrial food production. There can be no ambiguity around emissions. We need a 100% renewables goal and the phasing out of fossil fuels because the biofuel strategy has been a disaster in some countries. We also need independent assessment of the individual country commitments, with the assessment to begin in 2018 with regular reviews.

Ireland has got considerable praise for securing international agreement on the Sustainable Development Goals, ten of the 17 of which are about climate change. We are acknowledged as a champion in countering hunger but unless we walk the walk on climate change, we are guilty of being hypocritical. It raises a question about policy coherence that on the one hand, we are going to give development aid, which gives us a feel-good factor and on the other hand, we are taking back in that we are not delivering on climate change. What do we do? Will we just keep giving foreign aid and pay millions, if not billions, in fines to the EU because we are not meeting targets? Environmental sustainability has to be an indicator of progress, both nationally and globally. Will we commit to that?

The Taoiseach

That is an important point and the Deputy has made a valid contribution. The situation is that our profile in terms of what we produce and can produce from the agri-sector is disproportionate to other countries. No other country, with the exceptions of New Zealand, Uruguay and, to an extent, Denmark, match Ireland's profile in this regard. The point is that the targets set for Ireland of a 20% reduction by 2020 on 2005 figures are not realisable. They are not realisable because the European Commission overestimated the extent of what could come from the agriculture sector and the fact we have had a lost decade of investment in research, innovation and changes to deal with this.

Whatever the level possible of our achievements by 2020, what we need is not a way out nor an escape clause but an understanding that we will meet targets that are achievable, fair and sustainable. However, we are going to need some time to do that from 2020. If the current situation applies and the 2020 targets - which we will not be able to meet - are imposed on Ireland, whoever is in government in the years between 2020 and 2030 could suffer very serious fines. My point is that while we will not be able to meet all of the targets set for 2020, as the economy improves we will be able to catch up much more rapidly than others because we are doing the research and bringing in innovative smart technology in the agri-sector. Also, the fact is that we can produce so much more high quality food to feed people in other places and the research and the technology that we use can be transferred to others.

I listened to a view expressed this morning that the 45,000 beef farms we have in this country, whose carbon footprints are now all being calculated, should be planted with forestry instead. If we followed that line of logic, we would decrease the capacity to produce food by thousands of tonnes and would transfer the opportunity for more rain forests to be demolished and levelled for food to be produced to inferior standards with much higher emissions. Balance and common sense is required here. I am all for ambitious targets but I want targets that we can achieve. In that sense, we need to have some hard bargaining to reach an understanding with the European Commission within the next fortnight. These targets will be set down by mid-February and once set down, they will be exceptionally difficult to change.

For the reasons I have given, what was put on Ireland's plate when these targets were set originally is not acceptable to me or to the Government because they are unachievable. We want to achieve targets that are fair and sustainable and which take into account what we can supply to other countries in terms of education, research, innovation, knowledge and food.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Tuesday, 1 Dec 2015

Leaders' Questions

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 1 Dec 2015