Responding to the scathing critique of his UBP counterpart, Housing Minister Ashfield DeVent said despite all the UBP?s ?plans?, Bermuda was still in a housing crisis when they left office.

Mr. DeVent also changed the UBP motion deploring the failure of the PLP Government to produce and act on a housing plan to one stating: ?That this House take note and support the PLP Government in the development of a comprehensive plan to solve the problem of affordable housing in Bermuda?

He said that correcting the housing problem was a step-by-step process and that could not be fixed over night.

He defended his reasoning on not having a paper plan and said the UBP had seven plans in nine years.

?Some people like to have a plan written down, but the UBP had so many plans in writing and there is still a housing problem on the Island,? he said.

?I read many of the plans that experts wrote, the $100,000 could have went towards building a house.

?We are now beginning to look at it from a holistic perspective.

?Governments do not solve housing problems... and a report does not solve housing problems.?

Mr. DeVent cited that some people chose not to live in a house at all and even if they were offered a house, they would not take it.

He said the housing problem is very multi-faceted.

He said there are landlords who refuse to rent to Bermudians and people with children but will rent only to foreigners.

There are also those who simply allow their apartments to lie dormant rather than having anyone in them, he added.

Many people do not know how to take care of a house, he said. Some choose to buy a new dog or take a trip, rather than paying their rent.

There are also noisy tenants, who have no regard for their neighbours and those who simply refuse to pay their rent.

?What we are going to do is to take a holistic approach,? he said.

Mr. DeVent said his Ministry was in talks with the BHC and the private sector trying to find ways to build more homes.

But Opposition MP Louise Jackson said if the PLP were really a Government of the working man and were for the people then they should be working men.

?But it is the workers and the people who don?t have any houses,? she said.

Mrs. Jackson said there are elderly people living in our community that are being deprived of their basic needs because if they own their home they are not eligible for Financial Assistance.

Mrs. Jackson said one lady?s husband, who suffered a stroke, is currently in the hospital. But when he comes home he will need round the clock care for three days a week, while his wife works in a salon.

She said: ?The cost of the round the clock care will cost her $20 an hour and she only earns $8 an hour.

?How is she supposed to afford this and should she sell her home that she and her husband scrimped and saved for on $8 an hour to be eligible for Financial Assistance??

Mrs. Jackson said there was another elderly couple, who were about to be evicted and the husband was also in hospital.

She said they were offered an apartment, which was $400 dollars more than they could afford. ?What are you going to do about homes for the Island?s seniors?? she asked.

She also noted that both couples were on basic pay and were working long before the introduction of pensions which meant that they were only given $400 a month in their Government pension.

She asked: ?What are they supposed to do with that??

She called on the Government to treat seniors with more respect and to have a housing plan geared towards them.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Maxwell Burgess said there was no need for Bermudians to be sleeping in cars and in the bushes.

He said the Government could also look at pre-fabricated houses to immediately deal with the homeless.

?We (the UBP) built them and they are still there,? he said. ?I think that I have seen the plan of this Government and they are planning to do nothing.?

Government MP Wayne Perinchief pointed out the housing crisis facing Bermuda today is an issue which has been around since before the PLP?s time in Government.

But solving the problem is ?not just about the numbers?, he said, adding that building more houses will do no good unless they are affordable.

?Condomania... we thought it would relieve housing, but it hasn?t,? he said.

Instead, condos are snapped up by ex-pats who then leave them empty or rent them for half the year. ?It hasn?t helped.?

Developments like Sir John Swan?s apartment building Atlantis won?t help either, he said, unless they are affordable to Bermudians.

And he called on his party as Government to control the price of housing. ?We cannot simply allow land to go to the highest bidder, because Bermudians are being outbid.?

Suggesting leaseholds like the 99-year leases at Mary Victoria Road, Mr. Perinchief also suggested looking at high-rise apartment buildings in specific areas.

As many of those in need of housing are single, Mr. Perinchief said Government should consider not including the ability to own a car with such high-rises, especially if those living there are on short-term work permits or living in the City of Hamilton.

Statistics show the increase in population in Bermuda is not from the birth of Bermudians but from the increase of international workers, he said, another factor which needs to be taken into account when solving the housing issue.

Bermudians ?overbuild?, he said, while construction could be completed far more economically, both by using non-traditional building methods and by, if necessary, importing labour which can work at a cheaper price. ?There is nothing wrong on Government projects with using overseas labour.?

He also suggested that, without minimum wage, employers have to go by the union rate ? and if the unions partnered with Government, perhaps a better rate could be arrived at.

?If it seems I am setting the stage for something, I am,? he said. ?You asked for a plan? Stay tuned.?

UBP MP David Dodwell said Government should be ?embarrassed? about the take-note motion tabled by Mr. DeVent, calling it tantamount to ?standing up and admitting, we have no plan?.

?There is no plan, after six years and four ministers,? he said. ?I do not blame the Minister. This is not about Ashfield DeVent ... This is about the Government.?

The core issue of the housing crisis is: ?There is not enough supply,? he said.

However, Government does not have to physically build the houses to solve the problem, or even finance them, he said. Instead, Government could use its legislative powers to provide duty relief on construction materials or ?fast-track? plans through Planning, or provide Government land to private developers.

Government needed to do the research, form the plan, implement it and then review it, he said, tabling 15 photos of housing developments that were implemented under the UBP.

Mr. Dodwell also tabled a scale model of an affordable home the UBP had planned to build, and showed brochures with one UBP plan for affordable housing. ?We are offering our help ... This UBP will step up and be part of the process.?

When Government MPs responded by saying: ?Why don?t you do it?? Mr. Dodwell replied: ?We?re not in charge.

?Give us Tudor Hill, give us the ability to put duty relief on materials, and we will get the job done.?

The offer of help was received with welcome by Government MP Michael Scott, who agreed Government cannot solve this problem alone. ?Just because we?re in charge doesn?t mean you can?t participate ... Let?s all put our shoulders to the wheel.?

However, he noted, the UBP wanted Government to ?plan ourselves to death?.

Saying Government does have plans, he noted: ?Plans don?t have to be documents ... We have analyses in our brains and in our notebooks and we simply need to respond. It takes time to respond.?

Like Mr. Perinchief, Mr. Scott hinted that action will soon be forthcoming from Government. ?The PLP is at the forefront of the wave of implementation. You just need to be patient.?

Government land will play a part in that implementation, as will high-rises and large clusters of houses, single-occupation units and two-bedroom units.

He also pleaded to owners of Bermuda?s 2,000-plus vacant lots to make them available.

?If you don?t have a plan how on earth are you going to know what is required?? asked UBP MP Patricia Gordon-Pamplin. ?You say it is time for implementation ? what are you going to implement??

? For more coverage of debate from the House of Assembly see Tuesday?s The Royal Gazette.