Danny Healy-Rae Warns on Land Agency, Defends Local Housing

Thank you very much, Seancola. I'm glad to get the opportunity to talk on this very important matter because housing is the dominant thing that we are asked about every day, Minister, and I appreciate you trying to do something about the housing situation in the country. And while I may not agree with the land agency, part of it, the land development agency, it's nothing personal, it's my view, vis-a-vis your view. And first of all, I too want to compliment our local authority in Kerry for what they have done in very difficult times in the provision and housing. And while we have a fairly hefty list all the time, they continue to do their best. And they have done back over the years, going back as far as I can remember, when they built rural cottages, when they brought out demountable homes. And I think of one special man that did an awful lot of work on that, and I'm not sorry to mention him, and that's John O'Donohu from Kilderry, from Nakaderry in Farn 4. He was a clerk of works, but he did carry out some work, and he organized some houses, and he used local builders who employed local work tradesmen, and they did magnificent work going back with very little. They didn't have teleporters, or they didn't have a lot of the modern equipment that's available to builders today, but nevertheless, they carried out a massive housing program. back over the years, the only thing that we're shocked to know, Minister, is finance, and that's why the Land Development Agency, to me, I'm not happy about it, and I have fierce concerns about it, because it's removing the accountability away from honorary elected members, honorary county councilors who have done their best back over the years, and who are still doing their best today, and who are still doing their best today, in our local authority, Kerry County Council. I know that he has problems up here in Dublin, in acquiring land of getting houses built, and maybe that has tempted him to go this way, and maybe that's needed in Dublin, but it's not needed in Kerry. And I have concerns about public lands being handed over to private developers, and like Michael said, I have nothing against developers, but I believe public lands should remain in public ownership, and find if the developers will build the social housing, affordable housing, or affordable housing, or affordable housing for the local authority, that's fine to use them that way, but in the way that you're saying that they could acquire public lands, and even that they could acquire private lands, at agricultural prices. I'm very concerned about that. That could create a civil war in a town or a county, if land was CPO'd off of private people, I'd be very worried about that, and I'm worried about the aspect of taking the accountability. Tis accountability. Tis accountability we need. We've lost accountability in so many of the sectors. Roads, they tell when you put down a motion in Kerry County Council, they send a request on to the TII. Tis a step removed. The Refus Collection, fine, it's working fine in our county, but in other places, their local authorities have no role in that now. We're looking in Kerry with the Refus Collection. Town councils, they did great work as well in the towns, and they were abolished, and they were very necessary for local representation, and they were abolished, and I rue the day that that happened. There are different schemes that you could help us with, Minister. The tenant purchase scheme is not working. People that have rented houses for 30 and 40 years, they're not allowed to purchase their house after paying rent for that amount of years, because they're not working. They're not working now. They became pinchers. The scheme was abolished for a number of years, and they went over the years before it came back. Any house that was built since 2015, Minister, no one is allowed to purchase it. Normally they were allowed to purchase it after 12 months. Rural cottages are very hard. Rural cottages are very hard to get built in our county. We can't get enough money for them. That was a great scheme where a young couple provided the site, most often than not, on their own local family-owned land, and when they got up and running, they purchased the house and paid back the council for it. And likewise, the council were able to go out and build more houses. And it also helped to pay for the voids. We've, Carrick County Council are doing good enough now, but for a period they were struggling seriously because they didn't have the money to turn the voids around and to put people back into these houses. There are a lot of people, couples, and they would build their own house if they could get planning permission. But you see, this urban-generated pressure class is depriving many couples from building their own house. All they want is the planning and they build the houses themselves for themselves. That's all they want. You're saying that people should consider to build in towns and villages. Minister, I say to, we don't have the storage schemes. I hear the Green Party on there every day about the environment. We must protect the environment. I want to protect the environment as well as much as anyone else. Yes. But these people don't want to talk about the storage schemes. Foreign, Scotland, these places that have no storage schemes, proud, proud communities. Brasner, Khmer Town, a developer, can't build a development. He can get planning permission. All right, but he can't start working because the storage schemes, they're inadequate. They're saying we're going to get money, but that's been said for a long time. There are other things, Minister. In relation to young couples, young couples are the easiest. They built the house so far without any loan or anything. They got planning permission and the wind so far. They have the roof on, the windows in, the doors are on, and all they need is money for the wiring and the plumbing. And they won't qualify for the $30,000 grant because they didn't get a mortgage. That's one of the conditions that you need to have a mortgage before you qualify for the grant. And in the county council, can't give them a loan because they should have a greenfield site. I mean, that's absolutely ridiculous. And then to think of the other man, a grand young fellow that was prepared. All he wanted to borrow was a hundred thousand to build his house. He could do a lot of the work and he had enough money to go so far that no bank could give him the hundred thousand euros when they wouldn't give him all the cash to the house. Can you understand how ridiculous that is? So there's rules and regulations that are driving people down to the ground to get the planning and to get a small bit of help. There's levies and charges, minister, that are in face of color for connecting, if they can connect to the local store or to the water and electricity. The charges are absolutely ridiculous. And if he really want to help people, and I know that he'd like to help people, but what he'll have to do is to suss out the amount of VAT and the amount of tax. And like Deputy Michael Healy Ray said there, the cost of materials has gone so high now. But on top of the cost of the materials is the cost of the VAT and the taxes. That's nailing people to the cross. And a lot of people would try to build a house for themselves. And they do their very best, but they're nailed by rules and regulations and levies and charges. And they can't get planning permission in Kerry, a lot of them that want to build one-off houses. And they gladly do it if they've got a small bit of help. But I'm asking you, minister, to get someone to look at the urban-generated cars that's depriving so many people of planning permission in Kerry. People that just want to put a roof over their own heads with hardly any help required from anyone else. Thank you.