Homelessness and Rebuilding Ireland home loan
Deputy Fleming criticised the homeless situation and the new home loan scheme, saying local authorities were refusing many applications. The Tánaiste defended the scheme as only beginning, stressed repayment capacity, and said a review would come after the first quarter.
The Tánaiste quoted statistics of 123% of this and 26,000 of that. This is cold comfort to the people who are homeless tonight. He mentioned the Government would build 100,000 houses over ten years, so it will take ten years to clear the housing list in this country, and that is without anyone else coming on to the housing list in the next ten years. The Tánaiste said he does not have the statistics and figures-----
Comment on this
-----on how this new Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme is working. I have them here. I have ten refusals from various local authorities and I have quoted the reasons. My comment was the scheme has got off to a bad start. Local authorities are refusing right, left and centre. All it takes is a phone call from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to find out how many have been approved. I note the Tánaiste has not been able to answer the question and that speaks volumes. He said he does not have the statistics and figures. This is not about statistics and figures. It is about people's lives and the Government is letting them down.
Comment on this
With regard to homelessness we are making some positive progress. For example, rough sleepers are down by approximately 50%. We have put in place much better emergency accommodation and much more comprehensive emergency accommodation, particularly for families but also for individuals. We accept that is simply a temporary solution while the State needs to deliver homes for people through social housing and long-term leasing arrangements. We will focus on this.
The home loan scheme is just getting under way. I do not think the Deputy or anybody else in the House should be asking local authorities to make loans available to people that are not sustainable.
Comment on this
He seems to be suggesting that because there are some refusals there is something wrong. I do not think anybody should be arguing for everybody who looks for this loan facility to get it. Some people may not have the capacity to repay. While of course the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme gives preferential treatment to people under certain conditions, we all have a responsibility to ensure there is repayment capacity so people can actually repay what they borrow. That is what this will be about. We will have a review at the end of the first quarter.