|
Fianna Fáil Dublin Fingal candidate Senator Darragh O’Brien is calling for more social houses to be built in the North Dublin area following the revelation that there has been a 359% increase on the social housing waiting list in Fingal under the current Government.
“In 2008 there were 1,931 people on the social housing waiting list in Fingal, this had risen to 6,020 by 2013 and it is now almost 9,000,” pointed out Senator O’Brien, who is also the party’s Dublin spokesperson. “While the numbers on the social housing waiting list have grown, only two social houses were built in Fingal between 2011 and 2014. “The €18.97 million allocation promised to Fingal has targeted a build of 85 housing units built over 3 years, leading to an estimated reduction of less than 2% in the social housing waiting list. However this is only assuming that there is no increase in the waiting list in the interim, which – given the scale of expected home repossessions (about 25,000 nationally) – is very unlikely. “In contrast Fianna Fáil has a plan to spend €4.5bn to build 45,000 units by 2021. We are committed to ensuring that every family can aspire to living in appropriate accommodation.” Fianna Fáil’s Dublin spokesperson and Dublin Fingal candidate Senator Darragh O’Brien is calling for the establishment of a Fingal Villages Forum to protect and enhance the unique aspect of rural villages in the area. The Forum should be made up of residents and other relevant stakeholders, he said.
“It is crucially important that our rural villages and communities are supported so they do not fall into decline and can continue to play a vibrant role in North Dublin. There is no point in bandying about phrases such as Social Inclusion, High Quality Design, Settlement Strategy, Necessary Infrastructure and Developing a Sense of Place, Identity and Character, if we don’t apply them to all our rural villages and communities, and then ensure that those principles are actually enshrined in the heart of those communities.” Senator O’Brien went on to call for an integrated rural transport system: “Transport links from our rural villages of Ballyboughal, St Margaret’s, Rivermeade, Garristown, Naul, Oldtown, Kilsallaghan, Balscadden, Balrothery and Rolestown need to be vastly improved. “There has to be an integrated approach between land use and transport services, such as roads, paths, cycle ways and public transport, rather than just talk about it. I am totally committed to expanding our rural transport network to ensure better and much needed connectivity from these areas to our major towns, to the airport and on to Dublin city-centre. “I believe that Fingal county council’s rural housing policy is too restrictive and makes it far too difficult for young people from our rural communities to set up home and raise a family in the areas from which they come. Housing policy must reflect people’s commitment to live in Fingal, and they must be supported in that. I cannot for the life of me understand where this notion that local people must be obstructed from living locally came from. It is wrong. “Of course local housing must be on an agreed, appropriate scale and character to respect, enhance and integrate with that of the community, but the spirit of the planning process should be one of accommodating and working positively with local applicants, instead of hindering and refusing them. A forum could investigate and copperfasten a proper rural villages policy,” concluded Senator O’Brien. Fianna Fáil’s Dublin spokesperson Senator Darragh O’Brien has warned that criminal gangs in Dublin have more resources than the Gardaí.
The Dublin Fingal candidate said: “Last year in Dublin there were more than 600 incidents of crime involving a firearm or an offensive weapon. “Across Dublin we have seen guns and knives being used not just in gangland murders but increasingly in burglaries, muggings and in drunken disputes. “Dublin needs the Fianna Fáil proposed dedicated garda unit to tackle violent crime. Shootings and knife incidents in recent times have shaken the confidence of people who live here. We need to remove guns and knives from our streets, and give Gardai the resources to do that job. “At the moment Gardaí pursue criminals in standard family salon cars, they use their own mobile phones and type statements on their own laptops. The force has decreased by over 2,500 members in the past five years. In North Dublin alone we are down 152 gardai. “Garda stations in the heart of our communities have been closed and others have seen reduced hours. Fianna Fáil has a track record of supporting the Gardaí in Government. We have done it in the past and given the opportunity we will do it again. In government we will establish a dedicated public order unit and increase the force to 15,000 members,” vowed Senator O’Brien. “The public deserves a proper police force and the Gardai deserve to be properly and fully resourced. Fianna Fáil will ensure that the downgraded garda stations are returned to a full 24/7 service for the public.” Fianna Fáil candidate for Dublin Fingal Senator Darragh O’Brien has criticised the Government for not tackling the housing crisis and accused them of once again placing spin above substance.
The party’s Dublin spokesperson pointed out that Fine Gael and Labour have launched their housing policy several times but have yet to deliver any units on the ground. The problem is particularly acute in Fingal where there are over 9,000 households on the housing list, but only two social houses were built between 2011 and 2014. “Family homelessness is at crisis levels. According to Freedom of Information replies the waiting times on the social housing lists from each local authority reveal that most social housing applicants have been on the list for fewer than five years with most on the list between two to three years – when the current Government was in power. “After four years of slashing investment in homes this Government is now reliant on fantasy figures to try to overcome a crisis of its own creation. In contrast Fianna Fáil has a plan to spend €4.5bn to build 45,000 units by 2021. “Overall there are over 9,000 households on the social housing waiting list in Fingal County Council (3% total Households; approximately 9% of total population), this represents a massive 47% increase in the waiting list since 2013. Based on an average household size of 3 this means there is about 25,700 persons on the waiting list. “The €18.97 million allocation promised to Fingal has targeted a build of 85 housing units built over 3 years, leading to an estimated reduction of less than 2% in the social housing waiting list. However this is only assuming that there is no increase in the waiting list in the interim, which – given the scale of expected home repossessions (about 25,000 nationally) – is very unlikely. “Rent supplement levels are totally inadequate to find basic accommodation in the private rental market in Fingal especially in urban areas, according to the latest Daft Rental Report (Q2, 2015). “For a couple with one child on rent supplement, looking for a 2 bed house or apartment, the maximum rent ceiling is € 850 whereas average rent is € 1191, a -40% shortfall. “Despite the fact that allowable rent supplement limits are on average 20% below market rent prices, Minster Burton refused the raise these limits, citing the erroneous argument that this will lead to a further increase in rental prices. “With this inaction, the government is attempting to use the destitution and homelessness of families (those unable to afford rent due to inadequate supplement levels) as a means of stabilising rents. Rent supplement is meant as an anti-poverty measure, its purpose is not to attempt to regulate the private rental market,” warned Senator O’Brien. Fianna Fáil’s Dublin spokesperson Senator Darragh O’Brien is calling for financial institutions to find alternative means to deal with the mortgage crisis and says that no family homes should ever be repossessed.
“No family should have to leave their home. In this day and age evictions and repossessions should be a thing of the past,” added the Dublin Fingal candidate who went on to accuse the Government of washing its hands of families at risk of home repossession in Dublin. He pointed out that in 2015 a shocking 849 repossession orders were lodged in Dublin. “Nationally there were 4,440 repossession orders lodged in the courts. In the period July to September in 2015 almost 200 homes were repossessed. This is nearly double the number of homes repossessed on the same period in 2013. Meanwhile the Government has sat by without taking any meaningful action to help distressed mortgage holders,” added Senator O’Brien. “More than 15% of mortgage accounts for family homes in Ireland are now in arrears, which is more than three times higher than the figure at the end of December 2010. The country is potentially facing 25,000 home repossessions in 2016 alone,” he warned. “The Government introduced the Mortgage-to-Rent scheme with the view to keeping people in their homes. However this scheme has been a total failure. Only 27 people in Dublin were actually successful in getting on to the scheme in 2015 despite 660 people applying for it. The Government has designed the scheme as a bureaucratic nightmare to discourage people from applying. “In March, Fianna Fáil put forward legislation which would have removed the banks’ veto on restructuring arrangements involving a mortgage on a family home. Unfortunately, the government rejected this solution wholesale and has refused to take action to forestall the wave of repossessions that are likely to place in 2016.” |
NEWSArchives
September 2024
|
