Councils have ‘not measured up’ on housing, says Enda Kenny

The Government's homelessness plan was described as "a significant step forward but not the perfect article'' by Minister for Housing Simon Coveney in the Dáil yesterday.

“We do not pretend that it is,’’ he added. “If there are mistakes in it, we will correct them.”

Opening a debate on the plan, Mr Coveney said it was a very good start in terms of a signal of intent by Government, a commitment of very significant increased resources.

It was a plan that was tested and would deliver, if implemented, very significant increase in the number of social houses constructed, and kickstart the private sector to build many more houses that were needed, he said.

He said there was the capacity with the plan and its implementation to build 25,000 housing units by mid-2019 and go well beyond that figure.

Fianna Fáil TD John Curran, who chaired an Oireachtas committee on housing, said he broadly welcomed the plan.

“I think it makes a serious effort, across a number of headings, to tackle the housing issue,’’ he said.

Challenge

He said the committee had envisaged a national housing procurement agency, but the Minister had proposed a delivery office within the department. However, the plan should not fall over that issue, he added.

Labour spokeswoman Jan O'Sullivan said the challenge for the plan was to break the logjam that halted construction following the economic collapse.

She said hardly anyone was building, although there were zoned available sites.

Earlier, at Leaders’ Questions, Taoiseach Enda Kenny blamed local authorities for contributing to the housing crisis.

“I think it is important to note that local authorities, in the past number of years, have not measured up to being able to build social housing to the extent it was needed,’’ he said.

Incentives

They were now being presented with incentives in funding, designs of schemes and an expedited capacity for

An Bord Pleanála

to deal with planning applications, he added.

Addressing the Government benches, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said: “I can remember being here at Leaders’ Questions when you guys denied there was a problem for a long time.’’

He said it was not fair to blame the local authorities entirely.

Given the emergency, it was a scandal there was any empty house, he added.

AAA-PBP TD Richard Boyd Barrett described the Government's plans as "a mirage and false dawn''.

He said the document was an “incredible disappointment’’ for the more than 100,000 families and households “rotting on housing lists for 15 years and longer and the thousands of families suffering the cruelty and hardship of homelessness’’.