Councillors’ job is to build houses and not object to them – Tánaiste

By Cate McCurry, PA

The Tánaiste has taken a swipe at county councillors, saying they “need to realise” their job is to build houses, and not object to them.

Simon Harris also said every part of the State needs to treat the housing crisis as an emergency, including the chief executives of Uisce Éireann and ESB.

Mr Harris made the comments as he and the Minister for Housing James Browne visited the site of new cost rental apartments in Tallaght, Dublin.

The Department of Housing said it is the first local authority funded, standalone, cost rental development in Ireland.

Both ministers said that “key” to eliminating homelessness is supply of housing.

“Supply of a whole variety of homes, including social homes,” Mr Harris added.

“I know one of the issues that the minister (for housing) is working on, and that we fully support across government, is making it even easier for local authorities to go through the approval process for new social homes more quickly, and looking at how we can improve a standardisation in terms of how we develop social homes so they can be delivered more quickly.

“We’re in the early stages of this new government.

“That’s why we’re making big and bold decisions, including decisions that will be unpopular and difficult at times in relation to housing, including decisions that, quite rightly, people will be able to parse and analyse and critique, if they look at each decision individually.

“But actually, as the Minister (Browne) has rightly said, it is about putting together pieces of the jigsaw that will get us to those 300,000 incomes.

“I don’t in any way anyway underestimate the scale of the housing crisis. It is a housing emergency.

“It’s very real and acute emergency for people, particularly families and challenge in relation to housing today, and that’s why we need to break down every silo that exists in the state.

“Housing can’t just be an emergency for the Minister for Housing, the Department of Housing, or people in need of housing, it has to be an emergency every part of the state.

“It has to be an emergency for the CEO Uisce Eireann, the CEO of the ESB, every chief executive of every local authority, every county councillor who needs to realise their job is not to object to houses, but build houses.

“This is where we’ve got to get to break down the silos.”

Last week, emergency legislation that saw rent pressure zones extended nationwide was signed into law.

The system, which caps rent increases at the rate of inflation or 2 per cent, whichever is lower, have also been extended until the end of February after originally being due to expire at the end of the year.

Mr Browne said more time is needed to assess the impact of the changes in law.

He said that landlords have been leaving the system in “substantial numbers” for years because of the previous laws around Rent Pressure Zones.

“We wanted to bring in stronger tenants’ rights, that’s really important,” Mr Browne added.

“And also be able to activate supply because of when it comes to the prices of homes, the only way we’re going to get the prices to stabilise is through the increase of supply.

“That increase of supply will bring down rents, will increase the supply of homes to stabilise those and help eliminate homelessness as well.

“It is all about supply, supply, supply, supply, and that’s what we’re all aiming at towards now while protecting our renters and ensuring people can live in their local communities.”

He said that around 40 per cent of people going into homelessness is a result of notice to quit in tenancies.

He claimed the new legislation will bring in security of tenure.

“We know internationally, where you have higher homelessness, it is where you also have higher rents,” he added.

“By getting that supply up, you get rents down, and we’ll also help to get homelessness down, but also the measures we’ve made around Rent Pressure Zones, around security of tenure, will help prevent people going into homelessness as well.

“With this legislation in that we have security of tenure.

“We also have a large population moving from Ipas centres, who have had their situation regulated, but don’t have somewhere to live, coming into our homeless situation as well.

“I’m very conscious that well over 70 per cent of everybody who’s homeless is also in Dublin.

“So there was a lot of moving parts in terms of the homeless situation.

“We’re trying to address them all.

“But for those coming into homelessness to prevent them, we have record prevention as well, with people going into homelessness and getting people exited out as quickly as possible.”