The TDs who opposed the Dáil motion to ease the housing crisis

THE following TDs opposed this week's comprehensive Sinn Féin Dáil motion on solutions to try and ease the housing crisis.

These TDs had an opportunity to take decisive action on this issue by declaring the housing crisis a 'national emergency' and by implementing a range of emergency measures to address what is now a major humanitarian issue.

They didn't.

Voters might ask why.

These are the TDs who opposed the Sinn Féin motion, which is carried underneath the names.

Bannon, James.

Barry, Tom.

Breen, Pat

Butler, Ray

Buttimer, Jerry

Byrne, Eric

Cannon, Ciarán

Carey, Joe

Coffey, Paudie

Collins, Áine

Conaghan, Michael

Conlan, Seán

Conway, Ciara

Coonan, Noel

Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella

Costello, Joe

Creed, Michael

Daly, Jim

Deasy, John

Deenihan, Jimmy

Deering, Pat

Doherty, Regina

Donohoe, Paschal

Dowds, Robert

Doyle, Andrew

Durkan, Bernard J

Farrell, Alan

Feighan, Frank

Griffin, Brendan

Hannigan, Dominic

Harrington, Noel

Harris, Simon

Hayes, Tom

Heydon, Martin

Humphreys, Kevin

Keating, Derek

Kelly, Alan

Kyne, Seán

Lawlor, Anthony

Lynch, Ciarán

Lynch, Kathleen

Lyons, John

McCarthy, Michael

McEntee, Helen

McFadden, Gabrielle

McGinley, Dinny

McLoughlin, Tony

McNamara, Michael

Mitchell O'Connor, Mary

Mulherin, Michelle.

Murphy, Dara

Neville, Dan

Noonan, Michael

O'Donnell, Kieran

O'Donovan, Patrick

O'Dowd, Fergus

O'Mahony, John

O'Sullivan, Jan

Perry, John

Phelan, John Paul.

Ring, Michael

Ryan, Brendan

Shatter, Alan

Spring, Arthur.

Stagg, Emmet

Stanton, David

Wall, Jack

White, Alex

The Sinn Féin motion on the housing crisis:-

“That Dáil Éireann:

 – Accepts that there is an emergency social housing crisis resulting from years of underinvestment in social housing builds and acknowledges that the only way to fully address this crisis is to immediately commence a major social house building programme;

 – Further accepts that as a consequence of this lack of investment, bad planning, property speculation and incompetent governance, combined with successive government ideologically that has incentivised the private sector to increasingly deliver social housing needs, we have an unprecedented homelessness crisis;

 – Demands that the Government address its abject failure to deal with the housing and homelessness crisis which has resulted in almost 5,000 people state-wide living in emergency accommodation; an estimated 2,298 people living in emergency accommodation in Dublin, 1,275 of whom are children and an estimated 80 plus families presenting to the Dublin Region Homeless Executive on a monthly basis; 

– Notes that in the period succeeding the temporary provision of 260 extra beds last Christmas in response to the death of Jonathan Corrie on Molesworth Street, Dublin, the number of people sleeping rough on the streets has doubled; 

– Commends charitable organisations, community groups & housing agencies for the work they are doing to assist people who are homeless or living in housing distress throughout the State;

 – Acknowledges the findings of the Dublin Simon Community annual review for 2014 that highlighted the unprecedented levels of homelessness and the growing numbers of people sleeping rough and in emergency accommodation in the capital;

 – Commends Threshold’s Dublin Tenancy Protection Service in preventing 900 families from homelessness over the last year; 

– Agrees that current rent supplement levels are wholly inadequate to meet people’s needs as illustrated by figures released recently by the Private Residential Tenancies Board, (PRTB) that reveal a significant increase across both the private rental housing and apartment markets in Ireland up to June, 2015, with average rent for private accommodation increasing 7.1% in 12 months from the second quarter of 2014; 

– Notes that since this government came to power the spend on Rent Supplement has reduced from €516,860,000 in 2010 to an estimated figure of €298,415,000 in 2015 and that the Mortgage Interest Supplement decreased during the same period from €77,246,000 to €11,930,000 and this government have made it easier for the banks to evict people in mortgage arrears resulting in more homelessness and housing overcrowding;

 – Notes recent figures released by the PRTB that starkly show housing rents were 6.4% higher in the second quarter of this year, while apartment rents increased by 7.6% meaning tenants leasing a house paid out an average of €878 per month in rent - €50 more than in the same period in 2014 and for people renting an apartment, the national average rate was recorded at €922; 

– That in the Capital, rental rates continue to increase close to “boom” time levels, with housing rents increasing by 8.8% while apartment rates went up by 9.4% meaning the typical rent for a house in Dublin in the second quarter of this year was €1,387 and €1,260 for an apartment, while the Rent Supplement Thresholds is €950 a month.

 – Recognises the key role approved housing bodies have in providing & managing social housing

 – Agrees that housing homeless families in hotels & BB’s is wholly unacceptable and unsustainable. 

– Agrees that modular housing as proposed by this government as an emergency response measure is not the correct response to the crisis but will not oppose the provision of any shelter for homeless families on condition that modular housing is of high quality, is short-term, is well integrated and does not act as a replacement or financial impediment to a proper social housing build programme. 

– Review part 8 of the planning act with the view to temporarily amending legislation in order to provide social housing in a more timely manner.' 

– Significantly increase the direct funding to Local Authorities to commence a long term plan of social housing expansion; 

– Provide the legislative framework for Local Authorities to be able to access Housing Finance Agency loans off balance sheet to further supplement a major expansion of social housing; – Reverse the prioritisation of state subsidised private rented accommodation through schemes such as HAP, RAS and Leasing in favour of Local Authority and Housing Association direct build or purchase social housing: 

– Implement immediately a number of measures to address the housing and homelessness crisis which Environment Minister Alan Kelly has conceded is now a “humanitarian crisis”; 

– Contact the EU Commission and have the housing crisis declared a ‘national emergency’, allowing the government speed up the public procurement process when building social housing and allowing the government to fund the building of social housing off balance sheet; 

– Work in tandem with the PRTB to introduce Emergency Legislation to cap and reduce rents to reasonable rent levels and to index-link future rent rises; 

– To accept that with approximately 38,000 mortgage holders experiencing severe mortgage distress, there is a need to introduce emergency legislation to cap mortgage interest rates; 

– Strengthen the protection of the family home in the Land and Conveyancing Act; 

– Compel NAMA to engage in an emergency consultation with Local Authorities and to give Local Authorities the funding and power to have the first refusal on suitable NAMA properties or land banks; 

– Review all property related tax reliefs that encourage speculation for profit; 

– Set-up Municipal Trusts with local authorities to source off balance sheet funding to build social housing; 

– Give local authorities first option on empty state lands and buildings to address social housing needs; 

– Adequately fund local authorities to allow for regeneration projects, new build social housing, making voids ready for allocation within the agreed 6 week period, and to refurbish existing stock; 

– Acquire on a temporary basis empty buildings, including office space, unused retail units and other vacant properties that can be suitably converted quickly for accommodation use;

 – Increase requirements under Part V of the Planning and Development Act to 20% social and affordable housing on all new developments. 

– Increase funding for local authorities to build extensions to address overcrowding and disability adaptation needs in existing housing stock;

 – Reintroduce the Financial Contribution Scheme for Senior Citizens with monies raised being retained for future social housing needs; 

– Accept that local authorities are severely hampered from addressing the homelessness issue due to a lack of state funding and commits to adequately fund local authorities to address the short fall in funding required for homelessness; 

– Ring fence and increase funding to refuges that house survivors of domestic violence; 

– Re-examine the feasibility of the rural resettlement scheme.

 – Provide adequate funding to approved housing bodies to ensure they play a full role in provision of social housing 

– Expand and extend Threshold’s Tenancy Protection Service to include Galway, Limerick, Wicklow, Meath & Kildare