'Rabbits can't be pulled from hats' but Laois towns must get affordable housing

A host of Laois towns must be designated as locations for housing that people can afford to buy according to a Laois public representatitve

Laois independent TD Brian Stanley spoke in the Dáil on the need for both affordable and social housing. He insisted  that towns like Mountmellick, Portarlington, Portlaoise, Graiguecullen, Rathdowney, Abbeyleix and similar towns require cheaper property development.

“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 insisted in a statement issued to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

The TD believes that two areas 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. The Minister does not have to take my word for it, if he speaks to local authority managers and housing officials around the country, they will tell him it is not working.

"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 whatsoever," he said.

Dep Stanley demanded housing for these people in large and small towns in Laois. 

"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.

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"I know we cannot pull rabbits out of hats, but I would make two points to the Minister. 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," he said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured: Presentation Convent Portlaoise under redevelopment for social housing.

The TD stated that only 16 local authorities have levied the vacant sites levy on 186 sites in total in the country and that there are a whole string of local authorities that have not even designated one site as subject to the vacant site levy. He deemed this "unusual." 

"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 the ex-Sinn Féin representative.