Affordable Housing: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

The following motion was moved by Deputy Darragh O'Brien on Wednesday, 16 May 2018.

That Dáil Éireann:

notes that:

— the Affordable Housing Scheme was stood down by the Fine Gael-Labour Government in 2011;

— the Confidence and Supply Arrangement for a Fine Gael-led Minority Government contains a commitment to ‘significantly increase and expedite the delivery of social housing units, remove barriers to private housing supply and initiate an affordable housing scheme’;

— Dublin’s residential property prices have increased 90.6 per cent from their February 2012 low, whilst residential property prices in the rest of Ireland are 66.7 per cent higher than their low point in May 2013;

— the Residential Tenancies Board third quarter of 2017 Rent Index showed the national standardised average rent for new tenancies was €1,056 per month, up from €770 in 2012, an increase of 37 per cent;

— in Dublin, this index showed the average rent stood at €1,518, up from €972 in 2012, an increase of 56 per cent;

— Daft.ie has recorded a national rent increase of 82 per cent since 2012 to €1,227, up from €677 in 2011;

— Dublin’s rents in the fourth quarter of 2017 were €1,772 on average, compared to €1,060 in the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 67 per cent;

— the total individual average earnings have increased from €36,079 to €36,919, an increase of €840 or 2.32 per cent from 2012-2016, and this would lead to an average take home wage of €29,844, based on the latest statistics by the Central Statistics Office; and

— the average gross annual household income for the State in 2015-2016 was €57,184.40, which was 7.1 per cent higher than the €53,392.04 figure recorded in 2009-2010;

condemns:

— the failure to build affordable homes since 2011;

— the delays in undertaking an affordable rental pilot scheme since it was announced in 2015;

— the lack of specific targets, dates and locations for affordable homes under the Affordable Purchase Scheme announced in January 2018; and

— the fact that the capital housing budget is still 24 per cent behind 2008 levels and is projected to remain at €1.16 billion per annum under the new National Development Plan 2018-2027; and

calls on the Government to:

— earmark an additional capital investment for a State-led Affordable Housing Scheme in 2019, to directly build in key areas across the country with an initial State investment complementing off-balance sheet funding mechanisms such as credit union finance;

— ensure the Housing Needs Assessment programme is expedited and fully integrates local affordability data to build an accurate local image of affordability requirements;

— equip the National Regeneration and Development Agency with a specific affordable housing remit;

— establish an Affordable Housing Scheme with local income criteria, subject to repayments being no more than 35 per cent of the household’s net income after tax and social insurance (PRSI);

— review and upgrade local authority staffing capacity;

— set out clear targets in each county for affordable homes;

— expedite the establishment of a cost rental model across the country with clear localised income criteria and location targets;

— utilise State and local-authority owned lands in the development of social and affordable units; and

— establish a new Housing Delivery Agency to oversee the delivery of said targets issuing monthly progress reports.

Debate resumed on amendment No. 2:

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

"notes that:

— the economic downturn had a very significant impact on housing supply and the construction industry, with housing construction falling by over 90% between the peak in 2006 and the trough in 2013;

— with the economy returning to significant and consistent growth, and with the unemployment rate at 5.9% in April, its lowest since May 2008, a significant increase in new homes is needed;

— the Government, having regard to this, has made the delivery of new homes, social, affordable and private, a top priority through the development, resourcing and implementation of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness;

— in this regard, the Government’s initial focus has been on delivering homes for households in the lowest income brackets, through the commitment of over €6 billion to deliver 50,000 new social housing homes by 2021, with qualifying households also able to avail of the housing assistance payment, the rental accommodation scheme and other targeted programmes, with the aim of meeting the housing needs of over 137,000 households by the end of 2021;

— through concerted efforts by Government agencies, local authorities and non-governmental organisations, the housing needs of households in emergency accommodation or at risk of becoming homeless continue to be addressed, through a wide range of support programmes, as well as helping the most vulnerable, rough-sleeping homeless through the Housing First initiative which enables people, who may have been homeless and who have a high level of complex needs, to obtain permanent secure accommodation with the provision of intensive supports to help them maintain their tenancies;

— almost 26,000 households had their social housing needs met in 2017, exceeding the target set by 23%, and almost doubling the levels achieved in 2015;

— the social housing construction programme included some 850 schemes, or phases, with 13,400 homes in the pipeline, at the end of 2017, representing a very substantial increase of almost 5,000 new homes being progressed, compared with the 8,430 homes in the programme one year earlier;

— at the end of 2017, some 2,512 homes were completed, 3,650 were under construction and 1,912 further homes were about to go on site, with the remainder progressing through the various stages of planning, design and procurement;

— notwithstanding the responsibility of each chief executive for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of their respective local authority, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has, since 1 January 2015, approved 793 housing-related staff sanction requests from local authorities, and that additional supports are also being made available to local authorities to meet staffing costs associated with the delivery of their social housing build programmes;

— the Government has also implemented a suite of measures to facilitate increased residential construction activity and ensure the sector’s capacity to produce more affordable homes, through, inter alia:

— fast-track planning reforms and more flexible planning guidelines;

— €200 million investment in enabling infrastructure to service-open up housing lands with proportionate affordability dividends for house purchasers; and

— the progression of large-scale mixed-tenure housing projects, with social, affordable and private housing, on publicly-owned lands;

— the Government has also introduced targeted and time-bound measures to limit excessive rent increases, for example, through rent pressure zones, and to provide further protections and effective support services to both tenants and landlords;

— in budget 2018, significant obstacles to building more homes more quickly were removed, by:

— investing more capital funding in direct house building by the State;

— removing the Capital Gains Tax incentive to hold on to residential land, as well as escalating penalties for land hoarding; and

— providing a new, more affordable finance vehicle for builders through House Building Finance Ireland;

— these measures are having a positive impact, with all relevant indicators clearly showing that the supply-based measures under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness are working, with latest planning permissions and commencements data both up 27% year-on-year and registrations up 41%;

— having recognised the affordability pressures faced by some households, particularly in the major urban centres, the Government announced a further package of measures in January, with the potential to deliver more than 3,000 new homes initially and a target for at least 10,000 new affordable homes to buy and rent;

— the new measures are targeted at low- to moderate-income households, with annual gross income of up to €50,000 for single-income households and €75,000 for dual-income households;

— up to the end of October of last year, two thirds, or over 5,300 homes, of the overall number of houses purchased by first-time buyers in the greater Dublin area, Cork and Galway were purchased for less than €320,000, and that across the rest of the country, just over 90%, or 3,380 homes, of the overall number of houses purchased by first-time buyers were purchased for less than €250,000;

— a new Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan was made available from 1 February 2018, providing long-term, fixed-rate mortgages for first-time buyers;

— in 2011, reflecting the reality of market conditions across the country at that time when house prices fell by some 50% and the consequent significant easing of affordability in that period, all affordable housing schemes were stood down, and a new affordable purchase scheme is being established very shortly, that will see affordable homes built initially on State land, in co-operation with local authorities, with affordable housing targets to be published shortly;

— €75 million of additional Exchequer funding is being made available for enabling infrastructure, including to facilitate affordable housing provision, with a particular focus on our cities where the affordability challenge is greatest;

— the Government’s ambition is to make cost rental a major part of the housing system, with rents set at levels to cover construction costs and the management and administration of developments, but with only a minimal retained profit margin and this will be informed by a pilot project being progressed in Dublin at Enniskerry Road, Sandyford;

— detailed discussions are continuing with the European Investment Bank regarding the application of its international experiences in developing and supporting affordable housing to large-scale cost rental projects in Ireland;

— the publication of new build to rent and co-living planning guidelines will encourage development and investment in more rental accommodation at more affordable rents; and

— as part of Project Ireland 2040, the Government has committed to establish a new national regeneration and development agency, including consideration of how best to make State lands available, including suitable lands in the control and ownership of Government Departments and State agencies, to the new body for, inter alia, affordable residential development."

- (Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government).

An Ceann Comhairle

I must now deal with a postponed division on amendment No. 2 to the motion on affordable housing. On Wednesday, 16 May, on the question, "That the amendment be made," a division was claimed. In accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.

Amendment put:

The Dáil divided: Tá, 38; Níl, 73; Staon, 0.

Tá

Bailey, Maria.
Breen, Pat.
Brophy, Colm.
Bruton, Richard.
Byrne, Catherine.
Canney, Seán.
Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
Coveney, Simon.
D'Arcy, Michael.
Daly, Jim.
Deasy, John.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Fitzgerald, Frances.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flanagan, Charles.
Griffin, Brendan.
Kehoe, Paul.
Kyne, Seán.
Lowry, Michael.
Madigan, Josepha.
McHugh, Joe.
McLoughlin, Tony.
Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
Moran, Kevin Boxer.
Murphy, Dara.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Naughten, Denis.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Neville, Tom.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
Ring, Michael.
Rock, Noel.
Ross, Shane.
Stanton, David.
Zappone, Katherine.

Níl

Adams, Gerry.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brassil, John.
Breathnach, Declan.
Broughan, Thomas P.
Browne, James.
Buckley, Pat.
Burton, Joan.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Casey, Pat.
Cassells, Shane.
Chambers, Jack.
Collins, Michael.
Collins, Niall.
Cowen, Barry.
Crowe, Seán.
Doherty, Pearse.
Donnelly, Stephen S.
Dooley, Timmy.
Ellis, Dessie.
Ferris, Martin.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
Haughey, Seán.
Healy, Seamus.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kelleher, Billy.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
Martin, Catherine.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McGrath, Mattie.
McGrath, Michael.
Mitchell, Denise.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
Murphy, Eugene.
Murphy, Paul.
Nolan, Carol.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Keeffe, Kevin.
O'Loughlin, Fiona.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Rourke, Frank.
O'Sullivan, Jan.
O'Sullivan, Maureen.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Ryan, Brendan.
Ryan, Eamon.
Scanlon, Eamon.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Bríd.
Smyth, Niamh.
Stanley, Brian.
Tóibín, Peadar.
Troy, Robert.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Joe McHugh and Tony McLoughlin; Níl, Deputies Michael Moynihan and John Lahart.

Amendment declared lost.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “calls on the Government to:” and substitute the following:

“— at least, double the capital investment in the public housing provision for Budget 2019, to dramatically increase the delivery of social and affordable homes on public land and in mixed-income and mixed-tenure estates;

— amend Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, to deliver 20 per cent social and affordable housing in private developments, and 30 per cent social and affordable housing in strategic development zones;

— immediately introduce an affordable rental and purchase housing scheme to be rolled out by local authorities for households on incomes between €35,000 and €75,000 in this budgetary year;

— ensure that local authorities have adequate staff to deliver an ambitious programme of public housing and reduce the approval and procurement timeframe from 18 months to 6 months to ensure speedy delivery of new homes;

— fast-track the legislation for the establishment of Home Building Finance Ireland and target the fund at small and medium builders developing affordable housing;

— take a more proactive approach to the use of finance from credit unions, to assist the delivery of social and affordable homes;

— develop a coherent plan in partnership with the approved housing body sector to reverse the Eurostat decision to reclassify Approved Housing Bodies as part of the government sector; and

— ensure that no Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund funding is released to any project that does not deliver genuinely affordable homes at prices between €170,000 and €280,000, depending on the region.”

Amendment put:

The Dáil divided: Tá, 36; Níl, 75; Staon, 0.

Tá

Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Broughan, Thomas P.
Buckley, Pat.
Burton, Joan.
Crowe, Seán.
Doherty, Pearse.
Ellis, Dessie.
Ferris, Martin.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Healy, Seamus.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Martin, Catherine.
Mitchell, Denise.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Paul.
Nolan, Carol.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Sullivan, Jan.
O'Sullivan, Maureen.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
Penrose, Willie.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Ryan, Brendan.
Ryan, Eamon.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Bríd.
Stanley, Brian.
Tóibín, Peadar.

Níl

Bailey, Maria.
Brassil, John.
Breathnach, Declan.
Breen, Pat.
Brophy, Colm.
Browne, James.
Bruton, Richard.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Catherine.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Canney, Seán.
Casey, Pat.
Cassells, Shane.
Chambers, Jack.
Collins, Michael.
Collins, Niall.
Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
Coveney, Simon.
Cowen, Barry.
D'Arcy, Michael.
Daly, Jim.
Deasy, John.
Donnelly, Stephen S.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Dooley, Timmy.
Durkan, Bernard J.
English, Damien.
Fitzgerald, Frances.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flanagan, Charles.
Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
Griffin, Brendan.
Haughey, Seán.
Kehoe, Paul.
Kelleher, Billy.
Kyne, Seán.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
Lowry, Michael.
Madigan, Josepha.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McGrath, Mattie.
McGrath, Michael.
McHugh, Joe.
McLoughlin, Tony.
Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
Moran, Kevin Boxer.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
Murphy, Dara.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Murphy, Eugene.
Naughten, Denis.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Neville, Tom.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
O'Keeffe, Kevin.
O'Loughlin, Fiona.
O'Rourke, Frank.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Ring, Michael.
Rock, Noel.
Ross, Shane.
Scanlon, Eamon.
Smyth, Niamh.
Stanton, David.
Troy, Robert.
Zappone, Katherine.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Denise Mitchell; Níl, Deputies Michael Moynihan and John Lahart.

Amendment declared lost.

Question put: "That the motion be agreed to."

The Dáil divided: Tá, 39; Níl, 79; Staon, 0.

Tá

Brassil, John.
Breathnach, Declan.
Browne, James.
Butler, Mary.
Byrne, Thomas.
Cahill, Jackie.
Calleary, Dara.
Casey, Pat.
Cassells, Shane.
Chambers, Jack.
Collins, Michael.
Collins, Niall.
Cowen, Barry.
Curran, John.
Donnelly, Stephen S.
Dooley, Timmy.
Gallagher, Pat The Cope.
Haughey, Seán.
Kelleher, Billy.
Lahart, John.
Lawless, James.
McConalogue, Charlie.
McGrath, Mattie.
McGrath, Michael.
Moynihan, Aindrias.
Moynihan, Michael.
Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
Murphy, Eugene.
O'Brien, Darragh.
O'Callaghan, Jim.
O'Dea, Willie.
O'Keeffe, Kevin.
O'Loughlin, Fiona.
O'Rourke, Frank.
Ó Cuív, Éamon.
Rabbitte, Anne.
Scanlon, Eamon.
Smyth, Niamh.
Troy, Robert.

Níl

Adams, Gerry.
Bailey, Maria.
Barry, Mick.
Boyd Barrett, Richard.
Brady, John.
Breen, Pat.
Brophy, Colm.
Broughan, Thomas P.
Bruton, Richard.
Buckley, Pat.
Burton, Joan.
Byrne, Catherine.
Canney, Seán.
Carey, Joe.
Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
Coveney, Simon.
Crowe, Seán.
D'Arcy, Michael.
Daly, Jim.
Deasy, John.
Deering, Pat.
Doherty, Pearse.
Doherty, Regina.
Donohoe, Paschal.
Durkan, Bernard J.
Ellis, Dessie.
English, Damien.
Ferris, Martin.
Fitzgerald, Frances.
Fitzpatrick, Peter.
Flanagan, Charles.
Funchion, Kathleen.
Griffin, Brendan.
Healy, Seamus.
Howlin, Brendan.
Kehoe, Paul.
Kenny, Gino.
Kenny, Martin.
Kyne, Seán.
Lowry, Michael.
Madigan, Josepha.
Martin, Catherine.
McHugh, Joe.
McLoughlin, Tony.
Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
Mitchell, Denise.
Moran, Kevin Boxer.
Munster, Imelda.
Murphy, Dara.
Murphy, Eoghan.
Murphy, Paul.
Naughten, Denis.
Naughton, Hildegarde.
Neville, Tom.
Nolan, Carol.
O'Donovan, Patrick.
O'Dowd, Fergus.
O'Reilly, Louise.
O'Sullivan, Jan.
O'Sullivan, Maureen.
Ó Broin, Eoin.
Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
Penrose, Willie.
Pringle, Thomas.
Quinlivan, Maurice.
Ring, Michael.
Rock, Noel.
Ross, Shane.
Ryan, Brendan.
Ryan, Eamon.
Sherlock, Sean.
Shortall, Róisín.
Smith, Bríd.
Stanley, Brian.
Stanton, David.
Tóibín, Peadar.
Zappone, Katherine.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Michael Moynihan and John Lahart; Níl, Deputies Joe McHugh and Tony McLoughlin.

Question declared lost.

Explanations under Standing Order 138(2A) as received from Members

Deputies Barry and Paul Murphy voted against this motion due to the centrality of private developers to the proposals, the likely privatisation of State land, the likely use of State assets and monies to subsidise developers and the expectation that the housing produced will immediately go to the private market, at a subsidised price, and without claw-back provisions for the State.

Sitting suspended at 1.25 p.m. and resumed at 2.05 p.m.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Thursday, 17 May 2018