Mattie McGrath urges cut to red tape to tackle housing crisis
Mattie McGrath spoke about the housing crisis, arguing bureaucracy and taxation inflate building costs and prevent houses being built. He called for cutting red tape, supporting builders and county councils to resume construction, and for banks and planning to play their part so rural families who can build are not blocked.
Praise for colleagues and staff
He commended Deputy Doctor O'Brien for raising the motion and acknowledged Deputy O'Donoghue's contribution. He paid tribute to his own office staff, naming Katie who is about to go on maternity leave, and thanked housing staff in the councils and volunteers such as Father Peter, Mike Verley and Brother Kevin for their work with the homeless.
Critique of bureaucracy and costs
He said the cost and taxation on building are "ginormous" and must be lowered so it is profitable and feasible for builders to build. He argued bureaucracy and planning barriers are forcing people into towns and preventing rural housebuilding, describing a "herd mentality" that neglects village infrastructure.
Call for councils and builders to resume construction
He urged county councils to get back to building homes, noting councils once built large numbers in previous decades. He rejected the demonisation of builders and said practical measures are needed to restore local building capacity.
Concerns for those hit by COVID and for the homeless
He highlighted the pressures on shopkeepers, publicans and others hit hard by COVID and affirmed support for efforts to look after the homeless. He referenced reports, committee work and local frontline charity efforts as part of the response.
Concrete remedy and metaphor for action
He pressed for cutting red tape decisively - "when there's a hacksaw, a chainsaw, or whatever we want to get to cut it" - to remove frustration from the system and "get back to building houses." He also warned banks must play their part and allow those with jobs and mortgages to secure planning to build their own homes.
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I want to compliment Deputy Doctor O'Brien for bringing forward this motion here tonight, it's a very complex issue and I worked on the Housing Committee with him, I know how dedicated he is to it, and Deputy O'Donoghue is on the Homeless Committee now, but we're talking about it and talking about it in reports and reports and reports and you see as quick as we're trying to deal with the housing crisis, as Deputy O'Donoghue said, you know the cost, the taxation, what the government take out of the whole building a house is just ginormous and we have to let that down, it has to be proper for a builder to build a house, no problem blaming the builders and demonising them, it has to be, and the county councils must get back to building more houses, they've lost to wherewithal to build the houses, god they built them in the 40s, the 50s, the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s, I remember when I seen 1340 men getting into the back of Halley's truck and out of Finland, you'd be arrested today if it happened, going traveling to Kennedy to build houses, but they built them, they're your city minister, so look I want to pay tribute to the staff in my office, and I'm sure all the officers we do our best with the people, and there's cases that come across those, and Katie in my office who's leaving shortly to give birth to a child, please God, and going to maternity leave, but the work she does, and trying to deal with people, and it's very difficult, and the same with the housing staff in the council, it's very difficult for them, and as we're approaching, now look, I want to thank them as well for the reference, it's very fraught, and it's very, very difficult, but we need a kind of a, and a father Peter, Mike Verley here, and indeed brother Kevin, and all those, and the work that they do, and all those people involved, and the people go out to try and look after the homeless, but we're all these giants, and kind of pulling against each other, Natalie Cornelic-Hale has my favourite slogan, and attitude, so a lot more could be done, bureaucracy has to be taken out of the situation, and to try to get planning to build a rural house, I have at least 10 couples, who can build a house for themselves, who can get their mortgage, thankfully they have a job, and they could get their mortgage up to Covid anyway, but the banks aren't playing their part, and they can't get planning, and this herd mentality of herding them all into the towns, that's not working, the villages don't have the infrastructure, so we must look at the multifaceted, and try and allow the people who can build their own house to build them, now deal with the people who are going to be toughed out in the road, shopkeepers, publicans and all, that have been hit hard with Covid, and we support them as best we can, but look, it's going to be difficult, and challenging, but we need to have a more focus, and less red tape, the red tape will stretch from here down to doing Downy Beg, and across to Kilkenny, and back into the city again, and wrap us all up in it, and we'll have a smother with it, so we'll have to cut that, when there's a hacksaw, a chainsaw, or whatever we want to get to cut it, and take that frustration out of the business, and get back to building houses. Thank you.
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