Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

7. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet next. [25390/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

8. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet again. [25447/24]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
Link to this: Individually | In context

9. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet again. [25450/24]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

10. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [26069/24]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context

11. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet again. [26073/24]

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

12. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet next. [26075/24]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

13. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet again. [26145/24]

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

14. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet again. [26146/24]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

15. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet again. [26153/24]

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

16. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet again. [26154/24]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context

17. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet next. [26969/24]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

18. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet next. [26984/24]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 18, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on housing last met on Thursday, 30 May. The committee is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, 11 July. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and the programme for Government commitments regarding housing. At almost the mid-way point of the year, we are confident that the significant increase in the delivery of new homes in recent years will continue throughout this year. Over 5,800, or 5,841 to be specific, new homes were completed in the first quarter and construction has started on more than 51,935 new homes in the 12 months to the end of May. The development levy waiver and Uisce Éireann connection charge rebate, introduced last year and recently extended, have, in my view, helped to fast-track greater activity and have made more housing projects viable.

The future delivery pipeline is also strong. Planning permission was granted for almost 38,000 new homes in the year to the end of quarter 1 of 2024. There are now 22,000 new social homes at various stages of design and construction. On State lands, building continues apace on sites in Cork and Dublin, with many more large-scale housing developments proceeding to planning or construction later this year and in the years ahead. The affordability initiatives under Housing for All are continuing to make homeownership a reality for thousands more of our citizens. Over 4,000 individuals and couples have availed of the first home scheme since its launch. There were over 800 approvals in quarter 1 of this year, an increase of almost 40% compared with the same three months last year. So far in 2024, there have been 3,500 claims under the help-to-buy scheme, which is an increase of 28% on the same period in the previous year. The success of these schemes is also evident in the first-time buyer mortgage data, which shows that 6,522 approvals and 4,921 drawdowns, respectively, were recorded in the first quarter of this year.

Tackling vacancy and dereliction must remain a continuing focus for us all. Some 8,100 applications have now been received for the vacant property refurbishment grant, with over 5,000 approved and 375 grants drawn down nationwide. To further extend its reach, the Government recently approved an extension of the local authority home loan to support both the purchase and renovation of homes which are eligible under the grant. We are also making progress on key reforms, including the Planning and Development Bill 2023, which completed Report Stage on 12 June and is due to commence in the Seanad on 27 June. The Bill, once enacted, will enable house building at scale and the development of critical infrastructure at pace. The draft first revision of the national planning framework, which will be published for public consultation shortly, will be accompanied by the completed peer-reviewed research undertaken by the ESRI on structural housing demand.

Work is already ongoing to translate this demand into revised Housing for All targets, including tenure-specific breakdowns from 2025 onwards. These targets will be published this autumn and the annual update to Housing for All will be focused on scaling up delivery to achieve those revised targets. It will also consider a number of the recent recommendations from the report of the Housing Commission. That report has been sent to the Housing Agency to analyse in terms of costings, timelines and prioritisation. Finally, the Housing for All quarter 2 progress report will be published in July.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

There are more than eight contributors, so each Deputy will have one and a half minutes. I call Deputy Durkan.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply and acknowledge its content. An issue, however, is imminent, with the situation where people have been given notice to quit their rental properties or, sometimes, have had an extension over and above the normal waiting time for eviction. They are going to be removed from their homes. It is going to be done in the next four weeks, to put it at its widest. Some evictions may come before then. We do not have the ways or means to provide emergency accommodation for such families at the present time. These families include a lone parent, a woman, more essentially, with small children. Other people involved are living in very small and cramped accommodation. This is all coming to an end now. We need now to have an emergency response, whether that is provided through system-built houses or whatever in a particular location. This is an issue all around the country and not just in one area, and it is a very serious one. It is the most serious issue I have ever come across in my lifetime.

On top of this, we have the vulture funds pressuring people. I had one such discussion this morning with one well-known one, Pepper.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

These vulture funds are only interested in one thing: getting a hold of the house and property and satisfying their own particular needs.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Go raibh maith agat.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am sorry, Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for going on about this issue, but it is a really serious issue and I would like the Taoiseach to be able to give some reassurance to those people now.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Along the same lines, we still have a devastating housing crisis with multiple facets to it. One of these is the cliff edge of thresholds when it comes to social housing income thresholds, where people find themselves threatened with the possibility of homelessness through no fault of their own but then discover they have now gone over the threshold in this regard, even though they may have been on a housing list for years. It is a cliff edge because once people are denied the possibility of social housing because of income, they are also denied HAP, but in many cases they are disallowed from cost-rental housing on affordability grounds.

On income grounds, they fit, but on affordability grounds, because their income is not sufficient, they do not fit. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency. There is also the trap I mentioned to the Taoiseach previously whereby those who go into emergency accommodation are no longer allowed to get the HAP.

In addition, I am aware of a family of eight where one of their kids is working as a junior doctor in one of our most well-known hospitals.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The rest are kids and the parents are dependent on social welfare. They are all homeless now. After 15 years on the list they are over the threshold for social housing. Nothing is available for them.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy. We are over time.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context

One of their daughters is working in our hospitals looking after our sick. They are all homeless and not eligible for social housing or HAP. It is crazy.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I realise it is important but we are way over time.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Yesterday, Daft.ie released its latest house prices report. Shockingly - or not shockingly - it showed house prices continuing to spiral out of control. In the year to June, the average price of a home increased by almost 7%, to €340,000. In Dublin city, average house prices have hit €543,000, up almost 5%. In Louth, average house prices are now almost €300,000. That is up 7% in a year.

We all accept the affordable housing targets are too low. They are not being met and too many of the homes are not affordable to the majority of working people. In my constituency of Louth, there were no affordable-purchase homes in 2022 or 2023. I brought up the issue of Cois Farraige this year. A cost of €305,000 is not an affordable house in County Louth. Only five out of 26 applicants met the criteria. The time was extended and more people applied but what was meant to be ten affordable houses has ended up being five affordable houses. We know that house prices continue to rise. They are up 35% since the onset of Covid, and show no sign of falling in any way, shape, or form. The Government must look at the scheme as it is not working. The local authority in Louth and its officials say there is an issue with the criteria. This is not the first time I have raised the matter, but we need somebody to look at it and to come up with a scheme that will work and provide affordable housing.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
Link to this: Individually | In context

According to Daft.ie, the average price of a house in Cork city is now €364,000. This is an increase of 9% since last year. In other words, the average price of a house in Cork city has increased by €30,000 in the space of one year. There are many thousands of young people with good jobs in Cork who do not take home more than €30,000 a year. How are these young people meant to have any hope of ever owning a home when prices rise by sums greater than their annual income? How can the Taoiseach look those young people in the eye and tell them that the Government's housing policy is working?

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the rough sleeper count published recently by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. The number of people living on the streets in Dublin has increased by 54% in the past year. There are now 128 people sleeping rough. That is 128 people without a bed to sleep in and without somewhere safe to go home to. It is 128 people without any shelter, who have been failed by this State. This does not include the numbers of people who are seeking international protection who are sleeping rough or living in tents. Other European countries, for example, Finland, have succeeded in eradicating rough sleeping. There is no reason we could not do the same here in Ireland. What is the Taoiseach doing to eradicate rough sleeping?

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

First, I welcome the good work that has been done by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Although we have a lot more to do, a lot of houses have been built. A lot has been done by the local authorities under the Derelict Sites Act and so on. However, we are now getting to a different phase. I am aware of applicants for social housing who have been removed from the housing list without being made aware of it. Letters are sent to applicants, but they are posted to old addresses and the applicants do not receive them. I am aware of people who have been on the housing list for four years and who, because the review is only being done every year or two, could be taken off it. They are losing their time on the list. This is becoming an issue for me. Common sense must prevail here. I could have the proof that they are on the list, yet I cannot provide it. As other speakers have stated, I am aware of people who are borderline in terms of qualifying to go on the local authority housing list but there is no leniency or bit of help for them. They really need to be put on the list.

I wish to raise another issue that I believe is serious. The HMD 1 form must be filled out in the case of an applicant or their child having a medical condition but it is now getting to the stage where doctors do not have the time to fill in the forms. They say it is not part of what they do any more. If a doctor does fill in such a form, a person could be waiting for weeks. These are issues that are coming to local authorities every day and they are not being addressed. Common sense must apply in local authorities.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Gabhaim buíochas.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I accept that staff are doing their best.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

We are way over time.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I am not taking that from them but a lot of things must be looked at.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I want to again raise emergency accommodation with the Taoiseach today. I do so for two main reasons. The first is that I am generally concerned about the standard of these buildings but also about capacity issues. I note from a previous response that responsibility for the provision of emergency accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with the local authorities. Unfortunately, from the work I have been doing, it appears they are struggling and are in crisis mode. I mentioned that to the Taoiseach previously. At this point, the system is not working. At this stage, I speak to the homeless action team nearly daily. There is a number of people who I cannot get into emergency accommodation. They are in cars or staying with families. The best way to put it to the Taoiseach is that they are at breaking point. We hear about these cases and each one of us takes them home with us. That is a point that has been made to me. Is there anything the Taoiseach can do in respect of oversight?

There is also a need for inspections outside of the Dublin region. A write-up was done recently about a local case relating to having 24-7 security on a premises. I am assured by the council that it is in fact in place but another constituent has raised the same issue with me. Perhaps I could send the Taoiseach a note in respect of that. There is a major issue with capacity and standards in emergency accommodation.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

There are a lot of issues there. In direct answer to Deputy Durkan's question, and to a number of others, in terms of what we are doing and what we can do, we are building housing again at a level that we have not seen in a very long period. I know that cannot come fast enough for people looking for a roof over their head, people wondering if they can move out of the box room and people worried about insecure tenure, but there are real encouraging signs now. In the first five months of this year construction commenced on almost the same number of houses that were built in all of last year.

We are going to set new housing targets that are going to raise the bar. Only a couple of months ago, many people scoffed when I talked about needing to build 250,000 more homes between 2025 and 2030. They are beginning to see that it is now achievable and necessary. The Housing Commission states we need to do even more than that. We are seeing a system that is now going to be able to deliver that. The new housing targets will be set out later this year. As I outlined in my original answer, we will be showing in granular detail the composition and mix of that in terms of social, affordable and private housing. In the meantime, we will continue to invest in emergency accommodation and emergency solutions as well for the likes of the constituents referred to by the Deputy.

On the rough sleeper count, I look forward to directly meeting some homeless organisations myself on this shortly because I do want to see what we can do to make more progress on rough sleeping. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan is correct, we should not in any way , shape or form – not that we do – accept that this becomes a kind of norm or acceptable part of our housing system. We are better than that as a country. I can tell the Deputy some of the things we are doing to provide more emergency accommodation. We are also increasing the homeless funds for local authorities. There is clearly a need to do more, but also perhaps to understand more in terms of the practical measures that we can take.

I am very much open to doing this.

The point made by Deputy Murnane O'Connor regarding local authority lists comes up in my constituency office from time to time as well. We need to look at an entire overhaul of how people apply for social housing. People who live in a certain part of my county might be on the border with another county; they are on the list for one county but not the other. If they miss their application form, they have a row to get themselves put back on the list, with the two or three years lost being added back. Some work on this is under way, but I will seek an urgent update for the Deputy and others as to where it is at.

Deputy Boyd Barrett and others referred to thresholds. Deputy Boyd Barrett raises this regularly. We raised the thresholds for social housing recently. Deputy Boyd Barrett responded that this was not enough. We will consider what more can be done. There are definitely anomalies in the system such that people fall between stools in terms of not qualifying for one thing or going a little over in respect of the other. I am engaging with the Minister for housing on this matter.

On house prices, we have seen a number of reports in recent days. We have seen the Daft report and the CSO's residential property price index, which is seen as the authoritative source of data. The CSO has found that prices are 9.6% above their highest level at the peak of the property boom in April 2007 and that Dublin residential property prices are 1.8% lower than the 2007 peak. There is one thing that is not often spoken about when it comes to house prices and that is income levels. Since 2007, average weekly earnings have increased by more than 30% compared to an increase in house prices of more than 10%. This is not me suggesting in any way, shape or form that housing or housing affordability are where they need to be, but we need to look at matters in the round when we quote data. Research by the Central Bank shows the price-to-income ratio was 5.5 in 2006, 4.7 in 2018 and is now 4.6. This shows that while house prices are still far too high for far too many, the level of fluctuation is, perhaps, not as is often presented with raw data.

Deputy Wynne spoke about oversight of emergency accommodation and specific issues relating to County Clare. I will bring these queries directly to the Minister for housing and ask that he might raise them with the local authority and perhaps come back to Deputy Wynne's office.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I asked about the affordable scheme.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I had written that down. My apologies, I am trying to read my own handwriting. Deputy Ó Murchú said the affordable scheme needs to be looked at and reviewed. I will raise this specifically with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.