More affordable housing needed in Laois says local TD
Deputy Brian Stanley said that affordable to buy and rent housing schemes are needed in all towns in Laois
THE Independent Republican TD in Laois Brian Stanley spoke in the Dáil last week on affordable and Social Housing.
He told the newly appointed Housing Minister James Browne that affordable buy and rent housing schemes are needed in all towns in Laois.
Deputy Stanley said: “Housing targets were missed last year by a country mile. The leaders of the Government promised before an election that up to 40,000 units would be delivered, but when we got through the election, we discovered that just 30,000 were built. The signs this year for social housing and indeed particularly for housing delivery overall are not very promising.”
He said: “Two areas that are really been left behind are cost rental and affordable-to buy housing. The affordable housing scheme, as currently designed, is not working and it will not work in most parts of the country.
“Workers and families who are just above the limit for social housing, but do not have a hope of getting a mortgage or a loan for a house, are losing out. They are stuck in private rented accommodation, paying skyrocketing rents with no security of tenure for themselves or their families. They are locked in and those who are over 40 or 50 have no hope what so ever.
“We need to start providing affordable and social housing for them, including small towns like Mountrath, as well as larger towns like Mountmellick, Portarlington, Portlaoise, Graiguecullen, Rathdowney, Abbeyleix and similar towns. We need affordable housing to buy and rent in those towns. We need cost rentals for workers and families.”
The Portlaoise based TD said: “I know we cannot pull rabbits out of hats, but I would make two points. The housing commission report tells us that there is an urgency around enforcing vacant building and vacant site taxation. If one looks closely at the report, one sees that the residential zoned land tax, at 3%, is not enough. I do not want that tax levied on active farmland, but it needs to be stepped up a gear if we want it to work.
“Only 16 local authorities have levied the vacant sites levy on 186 sites in total in the country. There are a whole string of local authorities that have not even designated one site as subject to the vacant site levy. That is unusual. We must free up housing and land and reduce costs. These are two things that can be done, and the Housing Commission report tells us that they need to be done.”
“We also need to mass produce housing. I have raised this previously with various Ministers. We need six to ten house designs for different needs, for disabled needs, single people, families with children, both larger and smaller houses. That will cut out the architectural costs, which are adding 10% to 14% to the cost of building and slowing the process down, papers go back and forward between Departments. We need to cut this out and use the same designs and plan across the state,” said Deputy Stanley.
