Sula dtosaím ag caint ar an ábhar atá os ár gcomhair, sé sin polasaí sóisialta tithíochta an Rialtais, ba mhaith liom comhbhrón a dhéanamh le muintir Chluain Meala as ucht na tubaiste a tharla — go háirithe agus muid díreach os comhair na Nollag. Tharla a leithéid i mo chathair féin ach, buíochas le Dia, tar éis do gach uile dhuine oibriú le chéile tháinig feabhas ar an scéal agus tá an chathair ag dul ar aghaidh i gcónaí. Tá súil agam go n-éireoidh le muintir Chluain Meala na deacrachtaí atá os a gcomhair faoi láthair a shárú agus go dtiocfaidh tairbhe as an fhadhb seo atá os a gcomhair.
I welcome today's opportunity to focus attention on the Government's social housing policy. Decent housing is a necessity of life. Decent housing for all our people has for many years been, and continues to be, a basic concern of Government. The Government's Action Programme for the Millennium states our commitment to the deeply held ideal of so many people - home ownership — and also identifies a number of key priorities which include: a continuing house construction programme by local authorities and voluntary housing bodies; improvement and extension of the range of social housing options; refurbishment of existing inadequate housing and action on behalf of homeless people and travellers.
Successive Governments have subscribed to the same broad overall aim for housing policy, which is: "to enable every household to have available an affordable dwelling of good quality, suited to its needs, in a good environment and, as far as possible, at the tenure of its choice." This policy has stood the test of time and has enabled significant development in our response to changing housing needs over the years.
In the strategy for realising this aim, the guiding principle is that those who can afford to provide housing from their own resources should do so with the aid of the fiscal incentives available, as appropriate. Those unable to provide adequate and appropriate housing from their own resources should have access to social housing. In the past this almost invariably meant local authority housing but more recently it embraces a wide range of social housing options. It is with the needs of those unable to provide housing from their own resources and the response to these needs that I will now concentrate my remarks.
The thrust of our current social housing policy is based on the 1991 housing policy document "A Plan for Social Housing" which sets out the range of social housing measures now operated by my Department and the local authorities. "A Plan for Social Housing" was, in many ways, a ground breaking document. It radically redirected social housing policy away from the traditional single solution of building local authority housing. It brought to the fore many important concepts, such as counteracting social segregation which had not previously been a major objective of housing policy. It brought choice into the social housing area in a radical way through programmes to expand housing provision by the voluntary sector, including the introduction of the rental subsidy scheme. It encouraged local authorities to consider systematically the purchase of existing houses to meet needs as opposed to relying almost exclusively on building new housing. By means of the shared ownership scheme, home ownership was made available to persons who previously could not have aspired to owning their own homes. The plan increased the emphasis on better management of the public housing stock and introduced quality as a keyword in the area of social housing provision and management.
The social housing landscape has changed radically on foot of the new thinking contained in "A Plan for Social Housing". Moreover, there has also been an enormous increase in recent years in the financial resources directed to my Department's social housing programmes. Capital funding for social housing in 1998 will amount to some £372 million compared to £152 million as recently as 1993.
Social housing provision has grown in line with availability of finance. The social housing needs of about 10,000 households are now being met each year compared to just over 6,000 in 1992. We have also seen diversification in social housing output. Output from the voluntary housing sector is currently almost twice the 1992 level. Over 6,000 households have availed of shared ownership since its introduction.
As Minister with responsibility for housing, my main priorities in the social housing area are securing adequate resources for the various programmes, ensuring that the individual social housing schemes continue to respond effectively to needs and developing, as appropriate, new ways and means of tackling social housing needs.
The recently published 1998 Estimates of Expenditure reveal an overall provision of £453 million for the housing programmes under the aegis of my Department. This represents an increase of almost 14 per cent on the estimated expenditure this year. Local authority housing remains the mainstay of our response to social housing need. The provision of over £214 million for the local authority housing programme represents an increase of £40 million or nearly 23 per cent on the estimated expenditure for 1997. This will enable local authorities to meet commitments on their ongoing programmes and to fund a programme of 3,900 new starts or acquisitions in 1998 compared to an outturn of about 3,500 in 1997.
The local authority housing programme of the late 1990s is fundamentally different in character to that of previous decades. A key policy consideration is to provide housing in a manner which does not contribute to or reinforce social segregation. Local authorities are now providing housing in small, well designed schemes often on infill sites and without recourse, as in the past, to large estates on greenfield sites at the edges of our cities and towns. This new approach can be crucial in redeveloping rundown areas of our towns and cities. New housing brings people and life to an area. The provision of a new infill housing scheme can act as a catalyst for the renewal of an obsolete, rundown or underutilised area. As well as revitalising our urban centres, housing in infill locations provides a quality environment for residents, especially older or disabled people, in close proximity to shops, churches and other services.
I also recognise the need to provide local authority housing in rural areas to meet the needs of these areas. The expanded local authority programme is and should increasingly respond to needs in a much more sensitive, flexible and socially aware manner than in the past.
The 1998 provision for local authority housing also includes £20 million to get the redevelopment of Ballymun underway. The redevelopment project, including the provision of replacement housing, is estimated to cost some £180 million — at 1996 prices — and to span an eight year period. New housing to replace the existing flat complexes will be the key element in an integrated strategic plan for the social and economic regeneration of Ballymun as a whole. The redevelopment project will transform Ballymun into a vibrant new town capable of contributing to and benefiting from our current economic and social progress. The aim of the plan is to get Ballymun working as a town which caters for all local needs, attracts public and private investment, provides employment and embodies a better mix of housing in a rejuvenated physical environment.
A new company, Ballymun Regeneration Limited, has been set up by Dublin Corporation and is currently overseeing the preparation of the strategic plan in consultation with the local community which is represented on the board of the company and which will be involved at all stages in the implementation of the plan. The company recently held an open day for all the residents of Ballymun to hear their views on how the redevelopment should take place.
The Government is committed to alleviating the housing conditions of elderly persons living alone in unfit or insanitary accommodation. The elderly deserve our special consideration and their needs should be addressed with the minimum of formality and red-tape. The Task Force on Special Housing Aid for the Elderly provides this type of service. I am, therefore, pleased that an additional £750,000 has been provided in the budget to bring the 1998 provision for the task force to some £5 million — an increase of 21 per cent on the 1997 outturn.
This scheme provides assistance for any works that are considered urgently necessary to improve living conditions and, typically, would include necessary repairs and improvements to doors, windows and roofs; the provision of water and sewerage, food storage facilities, etc. It is funded by my Department but is operated on the ground by the health boards. The health boards are, of course, the agency primarily concerned with the well-being of the elderly and have been able to use the scheme in conjunction with their other services to the elderly with a minimum of formality and to good effect. Since its inception in 1982, the housing conditions of some 30,000 elderly households have been improved under this very worthwhile and cost effective scheme.
The voluntary housing sector is now established as a key element in the social housing system bringing with it many unique and positive features and a more diverse and sophisticated approach to meeting social housing needs. This is particularly the case in our response to special needs such as the elderly, the homeless and people with disabilities. The voluntary housing sector also encourages people towards a greater sense of responsibility for their own housing and housing estates, encourages co-operation and partnership and helps to foster participation in, rather than alienation from, the local community.
I recognise and appreciate the great efforts of the many voluntary housing groups in the provision and management of social housing. With the expansion of the sector in recent years, some voluntary housing bodies are relatively new in the field but some, such as the Iveagh Trust, have been providing and managing housing for the less well off members of our community for over 100 years. I am, and will continue to be, very supportive of their efforts.
Recently, there was a regrettable slow down in voluntary housing activity after a period of sustained growth. The voluntary housing sector provided around 1,000 housing units in 1995 but this declined to just over 900 last year. This year the best we can hope for is a further 900 completed units. This downward trend has resulted principally from increases in building costs which have not been matched by improvements in the level of the assistance available under the voluntary housing schemes. I was aware of the serious difficulty faced by voluntary housing organisations as the gap between what was available under the capital assistance scheme in particular and actual building costs widened. Accordingly, one of my immediate priorities on taking office was to review the full range of social housing measures with particular reference to the voluntary housing schemes.
On 13 November last I was happy to announce a comprehensive package of improvements to the range of social housing measures, including the capital assistance and rental subsidy schemes. The changes made to the voluntary housing schemes were significant and will, I hope, help to restore the positive growth momentum which had been built up but which had faltered over the past year or so. Bearing in mind the lessons of the past, I will do my utmost to ensure that the levels of assistance available under the schemes will in future remain in line with the real costs faced by voluntary housing organisations.
The capital assistance scheme has, over the years, focused largely on meeting special housing needs — the needs of older people, people with disabilities, the homeless. It is a straightforward effective scheme with a long and successful track record. I want its success to continue. I, therefore, increased the maximum assistance for one and two person units from £27,000 to £32,000, and for family type housing, from £33,000 to £40,000.
In addition, l have also taken the opportunity to refine the scheme somewhat. It is a fact of life that it is more expensive to provide housing in some locations than in others. I, therefore, introduced for the first time under the scheme higher levels of assistance in the Dublin area and in the cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. In these areas, maximum assistance of £36,000 will be available for one and two person units and £43,000 for family type housing. These new limits are £9,000 and £10,000, respectively, higher than what was available prior to my announcement.
There are, however, other areas where building costs are even higher than in our major urban centres whose needs may in the past have tended to be overlooked. I refer, of course, to a long standing concern of mine, improving the conditions for the population who live on our offshore islands. I have seen the regrettable circumstances of elderly persons having to leave their homes and neighbours on the islands often never to return because the type of sheltered supportive accommodation they needed was simply not available on an island.
I decided that the significant additional costs of transporting labour and building materials by sea to the islands warrants specific recognition under the voluntary housing schemes. The overall maximum unit cost limits on offshore islands are now £5,000 per unit higher than the limits applying in urban areas. This means that where assistance of £27,000 was previously available to provide a one or two person unit of accommodation on an island under the voluntary housing capital assistance scheme, £41,000 is now available. The limit for the larger units is going up from £33,000 to £48,000. I look forward to seeing voluntary housing projects on the islands and, indeed, not solely for the elderly.
I recognised that these new levels of assistance were overdue. Accordingly, the increases are being applied to voluntary housing commenced on or after 1 July, 1997. This is practical recognition in a real sense and a "thank you" to those bodies that stuck with their projects in the hope that revised limits would be introduced in a way that would help bridge the shortfall between the actual building costs and what was available under the schemes.
With regard to the rental subsidy scheme, l increased the unit cost limits from £41,000 to £47,000 and the higher limit for certain built up areas from £46,000 to £53,000. In addition, the limits for the islands will be £58,000 per unit. I also acceded to a long standing request of the voluntary sector that the management and maintenance allowance be increased from 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent. This applies with effect from the subsidy year commenced on 1 July last. I believe this is an important development which will help to ensure that adequate funding is in place to provide for the long-term maintenance and improvement of our stock of rental subsidy dwellings.
In response to concerns which were put to me, l reduced rents under the scheme, both for the tenants and for subsidiary earners. This is achieved by reducing the basis on which rent is assessed from a current level of 20p in the pound to 18p in the pound. I also introduced, for the first time, a cap of £20 per week on the rent payable by any subsidiary earner. These amendments were also backdated to 1 July last.
I had also been aware that the income limits for the scheme operated in effect to confine the scheme to the lowest income groups and even precluded, on income grounds, some households who could qualify for local authority housing. Accordingly, l introduced two important changes to the eligibility criteria. First, the current income limit of £9,000 per annum for 75 per cent of tenants in a project was increased with immediate effect to £10,000. Second, and more importantly, the income limit of £11,000 per annum which applied to the balance of tenancies was removed where the applicant is approved for local authority housing. As a result, while the scheme will retain its objective of focusing on the needs of low income families, voluntary housing bodies will not in the future be forced to turn away households approved for local authority housing on the grounds that their income was too high.
One of the most valuable aspects of the voluntary housing movement is the way in which it successfully builds communities and fosters a spirit of co-operation and partnership. I recognise that it is fundamentally important to the success of housing projects that adequate assistance be available to provide communal facilities. I, therefore, increased the assistance available in respect of communal facilities from £2,000 to £3,000 per unit of accommodation, backdated to 1 July, 1997. The previous overall limit of assistance of £80,000 for each rental subsidy project was increased to £100,000.
The measures which I have already taken are testament to my faith, and that of the Government, in the relevance and future of voluntary housing. I believe that growth and momentum in the voluntary housing movement will be restored as we move towards the next millennium.
I have also improved the terms of the shared ownership scheme. This scheme assists those on the margins of home ownership who wish to own their own home but are unable to do so under traditional mortgage arrangements. Since its introduction, the shared ownership option has been availed of by more than 6,000 households, many of whom would otherwise have had to rely on local authorities to meet their housing needs. My aim is to continue the success of that scheme.
Many challenges remain. At this time of the year, we tend to think particularly of the plight of homeless people. Since 1988, local authorities have had wide and flexible powers to address the accommodation needs of homeless people. Generally, they have been making good use of .these powers. One can get some appreciation of local authorities' increased activity in recent years in this area from the remarkable increase in their day-to-day expenditure on securing accommodation for homeless persons. My Department recoups 90 per cent of this expenditure to local authorities and recoupments from my Department have grown from about £7,000 in 1989 to £6 million this year. A significant amount of recent expenditure relates to the provision of emergency accommodation for the increasing number of asylum seekers in the Dublin area.
The expansion of local authority and social housing provision in recent years has benefited homeless people in common with other categories of housing need. The voluntary housing capital assistance scheme has been particularly successful in meeting the accommodation needs of the homeless. Since my appointment as Minister I have visited several of the Dublin hostels and met the voluntary body personnel operating them. I was very impressed by the dedication shown by these personnel and, indeed, the response to the needs of homeless people in the Dublin area and elsewhere is very much dependent on the voluntary sector. I want to pay particular tribute to the many voluntary organisations and individuals who work with, and on behalf of, homeless people.
I look forward to continued productive partnership between the State and voluntary sectors on behalf of the homeless along the lines of the Dublin homeless initiative, which involves the Dublin local authorities, the Eastern Health Board and voluntary organisations working together to deliver a comprehensive range of services to meet the needs of the homeless. I recently approved funding of £1.5 million for Dublin Corporation to purchase and redevelop premises in Marlborough Place as a hostel for homeless people. The corporation will carry out these works early next year.
There is a need to continue to improve living conditions in social housing estates. My Department helps improve the physical condition of local authority housing through the remedial works programme and the bathrooms subprogramme. Over £170 million has been made available to local authorities since 1985 for the improvement and upgrading of substandard local authority housing, pre-1940 dwellings and run down urban estates. In that time, major improvements have been carried out to some 9,500 houses and works are underway or are about to be commenced on a further 6,000. In addition, local authorities spend some £100 million annually on the maintenance and management of their housing stock. I encourage local authorities to achieve better value from this expenditure, improved local involvement in estate management and a lasting commitment from tenants to their housing.
The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1997, came into force with effect from 1 July 1997. Its primary purpose is to provide for a range of measures to assist housing authorities and approved voluntary bodies in addressing problems arising on their housing estates from drug dealing and serious antisocial behaviour. The Act forms part of a wider range of measures undertaken by the Government to deal with the issue of drugs and related crime. It is designed to assist housing authorities discharge their housing estate management function in a positive manner in conjunction with various other initiatives taken to promote improved estate management. These new powers are designed to help housing authorities and voluntary housing bodies with the ongoing management of their housing estates. More importantly, however, they are designed to help individuals to live and local communities to develop in an environment where statutory organisations can act against serious antisocial and drug related activities. A key element in the successful operation of the provisions in the 1997 Act is the need for a co-ordinated approach involving local authorities, other statutory agencies — particularly the Garda and the health boards — voluntary housing organisations, tenants and representative groups.
An Action Programme for the Millennium commits the Government to delivering a new deal for travellers. I intend to put in place the legislative and administrative framework necessary to deliver the required accommodation within a reasonable period of time. Legislation, which is urgently being drafted, will impose an obligation on housing authorities for the first time to adopt five year programmes for the provision of accommodation required to meet the needs of travellers.
Accommodation to be provided will range from standard and group housing to permanent residential caravan parks and transient halting sites. Assistance will also be available under the improved social housing options, either directly to travellers or to approved voluntary bodies acting on their behalf, to supplement accommodation provided by local authorities. Accommodation will be built to high standards, and to this end I recently published revised guidelines for residential caravan parks for travellers. Further guidelines in relation to other forms of accommodation are being prepared in consultation with the National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Group on which national travellers organisations are represented.
Programmes will be required to address the existing backlog in meeting needs and also to meet the expected increase in demand during their life. Programmes must be prepared in consultation with travellers through consultative committees to be set up in each area. Provision will also be made for the public to comment on the draft programmes and to have their views taken into account before the programmes are adopted. Financial assistance is available to local authorities for improved management and maintenance of halting sites, including the encouragement of pilot initiatives to facilitate greater participation by travellers in this area.
Supplementation of private rents through the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs's supplementary welfare allowance scheme has assumed a significant role in recent years. Expenditure on rent supplementation has grown from just £6 million in 1989 to over £80 million in 1997. Notwithstanding the scale of the cost increase, this form of income support is now recognised as an appropriate and cost effective response to certain social housing needs. It is important, however, to ensure maximum value for the money spent. My priority in this area will be to achieve greater ongoing co-ordination between the local authorities and the health boards in the delivery of their local services which impact on housing in accordance with the commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium to maximise co-ordination of housing policy.
There is significant concern about the affordability of housing having regard to trends in house prices. As a consequence, I have appointed consultants to undertake a study of the factors underlying recent increases in house prices. The study will involve an analysis of the main factors influencing increases in house prices since 1994, with particular emphasis on the situation in the Dublin region. The consultants will also assess likely future developments in the housing market generally and their effects on the affordability of housing. I hope to have the findings available to me next March.
However, in advance of the consultants' report, a number of positive steps have been taken. A special £15 million fund over three years has been established specifically for the purpose of providing water and sewerage services which are required to open up land for housing and other development. The fund will generate an investment of some £35 million to £40 million in such works over its lifespan. In addition, in revising the terms of the various social housing measures including the voluntary housing and shared ownership schemes, I was particularly conscious of the need to take account, as far as possible, of increases in house prices and construction costs.
In conclusion, I acknowledge that successive Governments have accorded social housing considerable priority in their programmes. I intend to continue this priority. In particular, this Government is delivering on its commitments in the social housing area through increased financial resources, significant improvements to the social housing options and ongoing work in a number of important areas, including affordability of housing and the need to promote the conservation and improvement of the housing stock, both private and public.
Social housing policy is now about much more than bricks and mortar and the simple numbers game it once was. It is about building lasting communities and addressing new needs in an appropriate and flexible way as they emerge. Our responses to these changing needs must constantly evolve if they are to remain relevant. I look forward to hearing the views of Members of the House on social housing policy today and assure them I will take careful note of what is said.
