Housing and Accommodation Download Pdf

Issues concerning housing and accommodation have had a major profile in recent years. Most of that profile, however, was concerned with the provision and cost of privately owned accommodation. A comparison of European housing tenures
illustrates the existence of three main models of housing provision: an owner occupier sector, a rental sector and a social housing sector. Table 3.5.1 gives details of how Irish tenure patterns have changes over time. In 2006 77.2 per cent of households were owner-occupiers, a figure which gives Ireland one of the highest rates of owner occupation in the EU (CSO, 2007:61; 2003:55). Compared to other countries Irish housing policy supports owner occupation to the detriment of all other forms of housing tenure; a feature which reflects the policy choices of government.

Ireland’s level of home ownership reflects the high value Irish people put on owning their own homes. It also reflects public policy which provided a variety of tax incentives to those who have the resources to invest in housing. Since the 1970s it has been the policy of successive Irish governments to subsidise owner occupation heavily. This has been achieved by the abolition of local rates on residential property and the subsequent failure to implement a system of residential property tax. More recently investment policies have been introduced that favour investment in residential development, for example investors in urban renewal schemes stood to gain over 419 per cent on their investment (Bacon, 1998). These policy developments, combined with policies of mortgage-interest tax relief and very favourable tenant purchase schemes have resulted in an extremely high level of home ownership. Owner-occupiers make up 77.2 per cent of the Irish population – this is considerably higher than the EU average of 63.4 per cent. Government housing policy has resulted in a housing system that is not tenure neutral and which has led to the residualisation of the rental sector, both public and private.

The down-the-line effect of this policy is the lack of adequate accommodation for larger and larger numbers of households. The value of home ownership should be discussed in the light of present realities. These include: the excessive prices paid
for houses and for land rezoned for housing; the burden of mortgage repayments especially on young families; the ghettoisation of local authority housing because private owners object to developments which may seem to devalue their properties; difficulties in providing suitable accommodation for special groups including Travellers, homeless people, asylum-seekers, young offenders and drug abusers.

^{The housing crisis}

During the last decade improved levels of economic growth combined with low interest rates resulted in high levels of housing inflation. This in turn resulted in a crisis in housing provision in both the public and the private sectors. In the private sector this crisis is evident from the rapid increase in house prices and from the severe difficulties experienced by first-time buyers seeking affordable houses. In the public sector the demand (waiting lists) for social housing has remained high in the past five years.

^{Housing: a new philosophy}

A series of publications by the economist Professor PJ Drudy of Trinity College have offered an interesting new approach to how Irish society views housing. In his paper at our 2005 Social Policy Conference, in a co-authored book with Michael Punch -entitled Out of Reach (2005) – and in a chapter in the Social Policy in Ireland book (Drudy, 2006) he has outlined these views.

The essence of Professor Drudy’s proposal is to view housing as a home rather than as a market commodity. In his conference paper Professor Drudy stated that we should “place the emphasis on housing as a home – shelter, a place to stay, to feel secure, to build a base, find an identity and participate in a community and society”. Therefore he continued: “housing thus becomes a central feature of ‘development’ – a process not simply comprising increases in economic growth, but containing positive actions to improve the quality of life and wellbeing for all” (2005: 44).

In concluding his paper, Drudy suggested that Irish society now needs to address “a fundamental philosophical question: is it the purpose of a housing system to provide investment, speculative or capital gains for those with the necessary resources or should the critical aim be to provide a home as a right for all citizens?” (2004: 46). In his view it is time now for Ireland to move away from seeing housing as a commodity to be traded on the market like any other tradable commodity; and to accept the latter opinion that views housing as a social requirement like health services or education.

CORI Justice strongly welcomes and endorses these views. We hope they lead to a debate on this issue and eventually to the adoption by Government, policy makers and society as a whole of this new philosophy.

^{NESC report on housing in Ireland}

At the end of 2004 the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) published a major report on housing. Entitled Housing in Ireland: Performance and Policy the report spans over 230 pages and provides guidelines for the future direction of policy in this area.In particular, the report made important suggestions for policy initiatives focused on social housing (see table 3.5.2). Overall, NESC concluded that it was particularly concerned about two issues. These are:

• the quality of the neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities being constructed in Ireland, and
• the provision of social and affordable housing

They also stress that adequately addressing these two issues will not be easy and that “the magnitude and significance of this challenge needs to be recognised”. In reviewing the current situation of the Irish housing system the Council pinpointed
three anxieties. These are:

(i) Stability: the stability of the housing sector in the next few years will be important. This sector is now a major employer in the economy and the projected declines in the number of house completions in the coming years needs to be Housing and Accommodation managed. Simultaneously, the ongoing existence of unmet need for social housing threatens to produce instability.
(ii) Inequality: the housing sector has generated inequality through being unable to meet the housing needs of many of those on low incomes and a number of other social groups. Furthermore, recent changes in property prices have been the
source of very significant changes in the distribution of wealth and income in Irish society.
(iii) Sustainability: the study also identified concerns about the patterns of settlement, neighbourhood design and density in the Irish housing system. NESC found that a strong case can be made that we are storing up significant social, environmental, budgetary and economic problems for the years to come. Taking these three issues together NESC concluded that “the Irish housing system has been dynamic, but unbalanced”. In conclusion the report identifies four key policy challenges:

• To achieve high quality, sustainable, development in both urban and rural areas
• To provide an effective range of supports to those households that fall below the affordability threshold
• To assist the market to continue to provide a high level of supply
• To ensure a tax and subsidy regime that supports these goals

^{2012 Social Housing target}

A central conclusion of the NESC housing report is that the supply of social housing will have to rise dramatically if the needs of Irish society are to be addressed in the years ahead. The main recommendation of the council on the issue of social
housing is outlined in table 3.5.2. It calls on Government to “create an expanded and more flexible stock of social housing - adding in the order of 73,000 permanent social housing units to bring the stock to 200,000 dwellings by 2012 - in a manner
that is consistent with other public investment needs and sound public finances” (2004:221).

The figure of 200,000 social housing units has been calculated based on the projected increases in the Irish population over that period and in the context of limited responses to existing social housing needs (e.g. homelessness, community based accommodation for disabled and older persons). The scale of the challenge facing Irish society can be gauged from the fact that at the end of 2004 the total stock of social housing (including units managed by both local authorities and the voluntary and cooperative housing sector) stood at about 127,000.

NESC concluded that to achieve the target of 200,000 units over the eight year period between 2005 and 2012, an annual increase of in excess of 9,000 units is necessary. They also pointed out that an estimated capital investment of €1.4bn a year would be required to achieve a net increase of 73,000 units by 2012. CORI Justice welcomed the commitment in Towards 2016 to provide 27,000 new social housing units by 2009. We also welcome the acknowledgement in that agreement of the NESC target of 73,000 new units. Reaching that target is essential if Ireland is to achieve the goal of ensuring that everyone in the country has appropriate accommodation.

We also welcome the substantial allocation of resources in the National Development Plan 2007-2013 (NDP) which should see this target delivered by 2013. Details of the pathway towards this target were outlined in a document outlining the Government’s housing policy strategy in mid-February 2007. This strategy, entitled Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, outlined a vision to transform the Irish housing sector over the coming years and set out a range of actions aimed at building sustainable communities, responding to housing need in a way that improves choice and tailors support taking account of the household’s position in the life-cycle. In total €18 billion is being provided under the NDP to meet the needs of 140,000 households in the period 2007 to 2013. In the areas of social housing the new policy statement commits Government to:

• Expand housing support programmes by commencing/acquiring 27,000 new homes for people in need of social housing over the period 2007 to 2009; assist further households through full implementation of the Rental Accommodation Scheme, and targeted measures for those with special housing needs.
• Further expansion provided for under the NDP 2007-2013, which will mean that the accommodation needs of some 100,000 households seeking social housing options will be met over the period.
• Establish housing advice centers in all major housing authorities to provide information to new claimants and ongoing services to tenants.

CORI Justice welcomes these commitments, they are good news for the households on waiting lists many of whom are living in overcrowded and unhealthy conditions. We look forward to continuing to monitor its development and implementation in the years ahead.

^{Waiting lists: how many and for how long?}

The most recent assessment of local authority waiting lists occurred on the 31st of March 2005 and was reported in the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government Annual Housing Statistics Bulletin.54 It found that there was a
total of 43,684 households on local-authority housing waiting lists (see table 3.5.3). This figure represents a decrease of 9.8 per cent since the 2002 assessment – a welcome improvement. However, since 1996 waiting lists have grown by 59.2 per
cent and the 2005 figure indicates that across Ireland about 120,000 people are in need of accommodation.

It is worthwhile examining the composition of this total waiting list figure. Table 3.5.4 shows that in 2005 the largest category of households on the lists were those labelled as being not able to meet costs of existing accommodation. This group accounted for 57 per cent of the waiting list or 25,045 households. Comparing this figure to previous editions of the Housing Statistics Bulletin reveals that this figure increased from 34 per cent in 1999 (it reached 44 per cent in 2002). This sustained growth can be directly related to the excessive house price and rent increases over recent years.

A comparison with the 2004 figures also reveals that three other categories experienced a growth in the number of households on the waiting lists. These are “medical or compassionate grounds” (+4.3 per cent), “disabled or handicapped” (+ 13.5 per cent) and “young persons leaving institutional care” (+219.5 per cent). Although growing from a small base, the increase in the number of young persons who are in need of accommodation having left institutional care is of concern. In
numeric terms this category increased from 82 individuals in 2002 to 262 individuals in 2005.

Analysis of the housing statistics also reveals that 43 per cent (18,902) of all those households on the waiting lists consist of single-person households. The majority of those waiting are Irish citizens (84.8 per cent) while a further 6.7 per cent are
EU-citizens and the remainder are from elsewhere in the world. In March 2005 the waiting list included 1,268 refugees (2.9 per cent of the total) and 2,396 individuals who had been granted permission to remain in the state (5.5 per cent of the total).

Table 3.5.5 indicates a clear association between being in housing need and low income. It reports household income (unadjusted for household composition) and finds that 68 per cent of households on the waiting list have an annual income
of below €10,000. Larger households are likely to have larger incomes (alongside larger living expenses), yet only 5.57 per cent recorded an income above €20,000.

When the 43,684 households on the 2005 waiting lists are classified by the length of time they have spent on the waiting list the figures reveal that 24 per cent of all households have been waiting for more than three years. A further 15 per cent are on the list for between 2-3 years while 20 per cent are waiting for between 1-2 years. The remaining 40 per cent have been waiting for less than a year. In the context of all these figures it has to be acknowledged that more progress needs to be made. Achieving that progress requires a greater commitment to providing social housing. Implementing NESC’s social housing recommendation (see table 3.5.2) will significantly address this problem and move Ireland closer to achieving CORI Justice’s core policy objective of ensuring that appropriate accommodation is available for all.

^{House completions}

Table 3.5.6 shows the rate of house completions in the various sectors between 1993 and 2007. During 2006 there was a significant increase in the total house completions rates with a growth since 2005 of over 15 per cent; producing a record
93,419 new homes. This level was not maintained in 2007 with provisional figures indicating a decrease to just over 78,000 completed units. However, in spite of the significant number of new houses, the experience of the private and public sectors
are very different.55

In 2006 the vast majority of new houses (94 per cent) were built by the private sector. Local authorities built 3,968 new homes in 2006, a decrease on the 2005 figure but better than the poor performance in 2004. The figures for 2006 also reveal a continued reversal in the recent growth of voluntary/non-profit and coop housing. These organisations built 1,240 houses during that year and they now account for close to one third of all publicly assisted housing completions. Currently they are managing a stock of approximately 21,000 dwellings. This trend is very welcome and underscores the growing role this sector is playing. CORI Justice believes this sector has a major contribution to make in addressing the current housing crisis and that government must give further assistance to facilitating its continued growth.

Table 3.5.7 further shows the inadequacy of local authorities’ response. While the total number of local authority completions plus acquisitions increased in 2005, having fallen over the previous two years, the total figures mark slow progress towards the NESC target. The total achieved in 2006 fell again. It is clear that delivery on the housing targets already outlined is essential.

^{Towards 2016 and Social Housing}

The national partnership agreement Towards 2016 provided a number of commitments in the area of social housing. CORI Justice believes that these commitments, outlined below, offer a real opportunity to enhance the sector. During mid-2008 we will publish our annual Policy Briefing on Monitoring Social Partnership reporting progress. These commitments are:

• The total number of new commencements/acquisitions in the period 2007-2009 will be 27,000 units.
• To further assist the voluntary and co-operative sector the Government will arrange through Local Authorities for additional land/units to be provided under this Agreement for the purpose of meeting identified housing need. Units/sites sufficient to supply some 3,000 dwellings will be identified and made available over the period 2007-2009.
• Minimum standards regulations for the private rented sector will be updated by the Dept of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and effectively enforced by Local Authorities.
• As a result of the various social and affordable housing measures the accommodation needs of some 60,000 new households will be addressed over the period 2007-2009.

^{The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, 2002.}

CORI Justice considers the decision by the government to repeal section V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as most unwise. This u-turn changed the 20 per cent rule which required all developers to allocate 20 per cent of all housing
built for social and affordable housing. This policy was worthwhile for two reasons. First it facilitated a more speedy provision of housing for those on our ever-growing waiting lists (see table 3.5.2) and second it opened up the prospect of Ireland developing as a more socially integrated nation.

In the context of Ireland’s social housing crisis, the decision to repeal this section of the Act was wrong. One of the major achievements of the government in the 1997-2002 period was that it showed a long-absent willingness to address the social
housing and societal integration issue. Therefore it is particularly sad that within six months of re-assuming office it chose to cancel one of its most noteworthy previous achievements.

^{The private rented sector}

Traditionally the private rental sector was the residual sector of the Irish housing system. The private rented sector is the “tenure of last resort for those unable to obtain local authority housing or not yet ready to enter owner-occupation” (McCashin, 2000:43). It was characterised by poor-quality accommodation and non-secure tenure at the lower end of the housing market. Today, this sector is highly differentiated, with high-quality housing and relatively secure tenure at the upper end of the market, and low-quality housing and insecurity of tenure at the lower end. Both ends of the market have experienced dramatic increases in rent over the last decade.

The percentage of the population dependent on this sector to meet their housing needs declined from 17.2 per cent in 1961 to 7 per cent in 1991 (see table 3.5.8). This compares with an EU average of 21 per cent. The results of Census 2006 indicate that the composition of the sector changed dramatically during the last 15 years. A combination of a growing population, changing household structure, and the increasing cost of owner-occupation has seen the number of households in the private rented sector increase by almost 50 per cent. As table 3.5.8 shows the private rented sector now accounts for 10 per cent of households. In total in 2006 there were 145,317 households living in the private rented sector. Of these 16,621 rented unfurnished dwellings and 128,696 rented furnished or part-furnished dwellings.

The average weekly rents paid were €161.57 for unfurnished and €191.09 for part/fully furnished dwellings (CSO, 2007: 48, 55). Ensuring that the standard of accommodation offered by this sector is at an appropriate level is a task which falls to the Private Residences Tenancy Board (PRTB) and local councils. Despite legal requirements, and the linking of tax deductions to registration, it remains the case that a sizeable proportion of the privately rented residences in the country are not registered with the PRTB. As of 31st December 2006 there were 132,843 units registered. Given the rate of construction and the growth of this sector, it seems safe to assume that the sector comprises in excess of the 145,317 units recorded in Census 2006. Taken together, the data suggest that between 8 and 10 per cent of rented properties are not registered.

The Housing Statistics Bulletin also reports on the level and geographical distribution of inspections of these registered properties. The data indicated that in some areas inspections are common while in others they are non-existent. For example there were 780 inspections during 2006 in Cork city, 341 in Waterford city, one in both Cavan and Cork county and zero in Limerick county, Meath and Monaghan. Nationwide, in 2006 a total of 8,364 dwellings were inspected with 20 per cent
being found to not meet the regulatory requirements (2007:83-84).

CORI Justice believes that as this sector continues to expand the government must take steps to ensure that all local authorities begin to carry out a reasonable number of inspections. Implementing such a policy would further enhance recent progress towards increasing standards in this sector. We also believe that it is important that further efforts are made to officially register more properties. In that regard we look forward to the availability of Census 2006 data which will allow a more detailed comparison of registration rates.

^{Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS)}

At the lower end of the housing market an increasing number of households are in receipt of a Supplementary Welfare Allowance in the form of rent supplement. There have been substantial changes to the rent supplement programme over the past three years. Following on the furore caused by the changes introduced as part of Budget 2004, Government has now taken a number of initiatives to address the concerns raised by CORI Justice and others at that time.

Of greater importance, however, Government now recognises that the rent supplement programme, originally designed as an emergency intervention, has expanded into a housing payment for a great many people who had spent several years in receipt of rent supplement. The introduction of the new Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) was a welcome move in the right direction. All local authorities are implementing RAS and all have transferred households from rent supplement to RAS. From 2005 to the end of December 2007 local authorities had accommodated 11,002 former rent supplement households with a long-term housing need. Of these, 5,964 were accommodated under RAS directly, and a further 5,038 under other social housing options. This exceeded the target for local authorities to accommodate 10,000 households formerly dependant on rent supplement by the end of 2007. We look forward to this programme continuing to develop and expand in the years ahead.

^Homelessness

It is possible to extract from the assessment of housing needs information about those most urgently in need of accommodation – the homeless. The data, from March 2005 show that the level of homelessness across the country has fallen from 2,468 in 2002 to 2,399 in 2005; a decline of 2.8 per cent. A study focused on Dublin entitled Counted in 2005 published in 2006 found that there were 1,361 homeless households representing a total of 2,015 homeless people (1,552 adults and 463 children) in the capital city. This figure represents a 19 per cent decrease on the previous assessment in 2002. Among the 1,552 adults 61 per cent were male with the majority aged between 21-39 years (2006: 25-27).

Research has shown that there are three broad categories of homeless people. The first category consists of those who become homeless because of poverty combined with either eviction or a relationship breakdown. The second and growing category of homeless persons consists of those who have chronic disabilities or special needs as a result of alcoholism, mental illness or drug dependency. This group has multiple needs, of which housing is just one (Homeless Initiative, 1999). A report for the National Advisory Committee on Drugs in mid-2005 noted that the vast majority (87 per cent) of the homeless people they surveyed first used drugs before becoming homeless. It also noted that 74 per cent of homeless individuals reported lifetime use of an illicit drug (Lawless and Corr, 2005:95, 97). A third category of homeless persons has emerged in Ireland in recent years – this comprises asylumseekers, migrants and refugees who have specific housing and other social-service needs. The association between homelessness and mental health problems was assessed in a study at the Mater Hospital in Dublin. It found that one-third of all referrals for psychiatric assessment from its A&E department were homeless people.

In all it is estimated that about 40 per cent of Ireland’s homeless have mental health difficulties. These facts underscore the vulnerability of the homeless and the need for ever greater efforts to continue to address this problem. Over time the nature and scale of Ireland’s homeless problem has changed significantly. CORI Justice believes that the resources allocated to this area over recent years have now provided sufficient residential places for those who seek a place to stay and who in the past were refused because of the lack of available accommodation; often emergency accommodation. However, there remains
homelessness related to mental health, drug and migration issues. These are problems that require solutions far beyond the simple provision of a bed. There is also a need for greater availability of transitional places. These will be challenging if the Government is to meet the Towards 2016 commitment of eliminating homelessness by 2010.

In 2005 approximately €51 million of State funding was allocated to addressing homelessness. Added to this amount are the contributions of other charities, agencies and volunteers. In the context of the progress being achieved in addressing homelessness, and given the scale of this funding, a value-for-money review of the effectiveness of the current approach to tackling homelessness is long overdue.

^{Traveller accommodation}

Results from the 2006 Census of Population show that there were 22,435 members of the Travelling community in Ireland. These comprised 11,028 males and 11,407 females living in a total of 4,371 Traveller households. Of these households, 60 per cent (2,640) lived in a house, 6 per cent (260) in a flat or apartment and 28 per cent (1,221) in ‘temporary housing units’ such as a caravan or mobile home. The Census also reports that among adult Travellers (those aged 15 years and over) only 3.4 per cent had completed upper secondary (leaving certificate or equivalent) education (CSO, 2007: 32, 45, 61).As a minority group, Travellers have been very exposed to social exclusion and in particular have experienced continued problems with the provision of accommodation. Responding to the report of The National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee (published in January 2005) the Minister of State for Housing, Noel Ahern, admitted that the pace at which Traveller accommodation is provided is too slow. A similar view was expressed by the Council of Europe in May 2004

^{Housing and people with a disability}

CORI Justice welcomes the recognition by NESC in its review of housing policy that “a particular gap is the lack of a strategic framework to support the provision of tailored housing and housing supports for people with disabilities” 2004:157). A feature of having a disability is additional housing costs. Primarily these costs are for adjustments to residences to ensure access and continued use. For some years local authorities have provided a disabled persons housing grant to assist in the cost of these changes. However, during 2002 the Irish Wheelchair Association reported that an estimated six thousand people with disabilities across the state were waiting for these grants. Limited progress has been made since. Besides quality of life issues studies have shown that the cost of keeping people who are older or who have a disability in nursing care is almost eight times the cost of adapting and providing health care within their own homes.

The commitment in Towards 2016 to establish a National Housing Strategy for People with Disabilities has been honoured. Such a strategy can play an important part in enhancing the provision of tailored housing and housing support to people with disabilities. Funding this strategy adequataely is a necessity and CORI Justice believes that the government should allocate appropriate funding to reduce any unnecessarily long waiting lists. Furthermore, as a growing number of people with disabilities who have a housing need seek access to social housing and as the population ages the demands on this scheme will increase. Therefore we believe that the government should judge the value of the investments required under this strategy broadly.

^{Children and housing}

Living in housing that is overcrowded, damp, in disrepair or in a poor neighbourhood can be damaging to people of all ages. However, its impact on children’s welfare tends to be very significant.A study produced for the Children’s Research Centre at Trinity College Dublin by Simon Brooke found that between 1991 and 2002 the numbers of children living in these conditions doubled. According to the report entitled Housing Problems and Irish Children there are some 50,000 children living in such conditions. The report found that there is a concentration of these problems among children in one-parent families and among those living in rented accommodation. In response to this problem the report suggested that local authorities need to create a specific fund to provide regular maintenance of their dwellings. Furthermore the report called for the current minimum standards set for the private rented sector to be raised and that these be enforced by local authorities. Finally the report suggested that the National Children’s Strategy be revised to include housing as a ‘basic need’.CORI Justice welcomes the recommendations of this report. As we have previously highlighted Ireland has a serious problem with child poverty. Continually research has pointed out that low income and low accommodation standards are associated with poor health levels and poor future educational and life opportunities. More resources need to be allocated to this area.

^{Second homes – a problem?}

While addressing Ireland’s housing problem, the National Development Plan Mid-Term Review (ESRI, 2003) pointed out the growing problem of second homes. It noted that a quarter of all houses built in 2003 were second (holiday) houses and
will have nobody living in them for nine months of the year. Based on data collected by Census enumerators the CSO reported that on census night (April 23rd) 2006 there were 49,789 unoccupied holiday homes in Ireland representing almost 3.5 per cent of tha national housing stock. What is often overlooked when this issue is being discussed is that the infrastructure to support these houses is substantially subsidised by the tax-payer. Roads, water, sewage and electricity infrastructure are just part of this subsidy which goes, by definition, to those who are already better off as they can afford these second homes in the first place. In addition, the authors of the review point out that the huge growth in demand for second houses is eating up resources and militating against balanced regional development. Consequently, they recommend that people purchasing second houses should have to pay the full infrastructural costs, much of which is currently borne by society through the Exchequer. A similar conclusion was reached by Indecon Economic Consultants in their report on the future of Local Authority financing commissioned by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2005:183-186; 189-190).

There seems something perverse in the fact that the taxpayer is providing substantial subsidies to the owners of these unoccupied (mostly holiday) houses while so many people don’t have basic adequate accommodation. In the context
of the housing phenomenon outlined above the second house problems should be addressed so that priority can be given to supplying houses which people need and will be lived in all year round.

^{Policy Proposals on Housing and Accommodation}

• Implement the commitment in Towards 2016 to provide 27,000 new social housing units by 2009.
• Develop and support policies focused on mixed housing, mixed communities, choice of tenure, and mix of different-sized housing units.
• Recognise affordable housing as a separate category aimed at a particular income group.
• Provide sufficient resources to implement the commitment in Towards 2016 to eliminate homelessness by 2010.
• Continue to increase the budget allocation for local authority, coop and voluntary/non-profit housing.
• Ensure that 20 per cent of building land is allocated for social and affordable housing with at least half of this being allocated for social housing.
• Provide new resources for the security and management of localauthority housing.
• Actively implement and enforce the legislation on the private rented sector of housing.
• Ensure that nobody remains dependent on rent supplement for more than 18 months. To this end ensure prompt delivery and adequate resourcing of the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).
• Provide the resources required to ensure implementation of the local authorities Travellers’ Accommodation programmes.
• Give priority to tackling ongoing issues concerning accommodation for refugees and asylum-seekers.
• Introduce a policy where people purchasing second houses (holiday homes) should pay the full infrastructural costs of these homes.
• Integrate housing policy with other social and care supports to enable vulnerable people (e.g. disability, elderly, homeless) to live independent lives.
• Ensure that sufficient funds are made available to reduce the waiting lists for the disabled persons housing grant.

Notes:

54 The next assessment will be carried out in 2008 and published in late 2008/2009.
55 Complete 2007 was not available at the time of writing therefore we analyse the 2006 data.