Danny Healy-Rae urges more social housing, rural cottages
Danny Healy-Rae spoke on 29 Sep 2021 about housing policy, saying the plan relies too heavily on the private sector and calling for increased funding for social housing, rural cottages and demountable homes. He criticised limits on the 'tin and purchase' scheme, highlighted planning and wastewater treatment-plan failures in local towns and urged attention to landlord taxation.
Praise for local efforts and critique of private-sector focus
He began by thanking Dara O'Brien for attempting to rectify the housing situation, but warned that too much emphasis is being placed on what the private sector will provide under the current plan.
Funding for social housing and rural cottages
He argued that local authorities should be given the funding to build more social houses and advocated building more rural cottages where applicants can provide the sites, so people can remain in the places where they were born and reared.
Demountable homes and the 'tin and purchase' scheme
He called for local authorities like Carey to receive money for demountable homes to site on farms or other local sites. He urged a proper tin and purchase scheme, objecting to a stipulation that bars purchase of houses built since 2015. He also said the Taoiseach's stated support for everyone owning their own home is not being realised even by local authorities.
Planning permission and wastewater treatment plans
He raised problems securing planning permission for one-off houses in areas such as Carey and stressed the need for treatment plans for towns and villages. He named Scottydlin and Cora as having no treatment plan and recalled Scottydlin's higher priority when he and Tom Fleming were councillors.
Landlord taxation and the cost of 'rinse'
He referenced discussion about the cost of "rinse" and said the government should address the tax burden on landlords, noting examples of landlords paying 51% and 52% tax as an area needing action.
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Thank you very much. First of all I want to thank Dara O'Brien for trying to rectify the housing situation and I appreciate anyone that is trying to do their best. But I believe that too much emphasis is on what the private sector will provide in this plan for all. I think that local authorities should be given the funding to build more social houses. I believe that we should be building more rural cottages where applicants are providing the sites. I believe that we should be giving local authorities like Carey money for demountable homes to site them in farms or places where people won't leave the place they were born and reared in. I believe the tin and purchase scheme, Michael touched on it already, needs to be put in place. A proper tin and purchase scheme where there is a stipulation now that if a house was built since 2015 it can't be purchased. That is out of the window when we hear the Taoiseach saying that he supports the ideal that everyone should own their own home. That is not happening even with the local authorities. The cap for a couple with three children is up to 3,600. I mean to throw them people a small bit over the threshold after that. Planning permission for one-off houses. We are certainly having trouble in Carey at the present time and I am asking that that be looked into. We need treatment plans for our towns and villages that have been crying out for so long. I mean taking mayor, you can't get permission for a development there, you can for a one-off house. So all development is stimied because of the state of our treatment plans in our houses in our towns and villages. And just take Scottydlin and Cora, no treatment plan at all at all. And Scottydlin was number three, number one at one stage. When myself and Tom Fleming were councillors, we had it up to number one. And where is it now? Unknowledge at all at all. And then the other thing is the government, and there has been so much talk about rinse and the cost of rinse. The government was considered doing something about reducing the percentage that they are taking from landlords that are paying 51% and 52% tax. I think that's where it has to be addressed. And thank you very much. Thank you.
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