The current investment by the State-----

-----is €6.8 billion. How do we make up that €13 billion gap? Is the State going to contribute that €13 billion in the context of seeing tariffs introduced and economic uncertainty?

We need to get real here.

Private investment is needed. The tenant in situ scheme has been extended but many Members said the scheme is over. It has been extended into 2025.

We cannot be any way clearer about that.

There is an emergency and we will use every lever possible to increase supply, make houses affordable and to end homelessness.

They are representing their constituents.

It is great to see this issue being raised in such a specific way and the urgency across both Houses, which is necessary. I will try my best to give the Senator updated timelines. Perhaps these will not be exact dates, but I hope to shed some light on the timelines he is seeking. The national planning framework 2018 is the 20-year strategy for strategic planning and sustainable development of our urban and rural areas to 2040 with the core objectives of securing balanced regional development and a sustainable appro…

I will bring back to the senior Minister and the Department the Senator's suggestion to release lands that are zoned, serviced and ready to go in order that local authorities might be in a position to deliver much-needed housing on those. I take the Senator’s original point about the speed at which this has moved. It could have happened faster and it needs to happen faster. I spoke to the Minister recently about this and there is a sense of urgency in terms of finalising the NPF. With regard to the county developme…

I thank the Senator. In fairness to him, he has laid out his points in a structured manner and has covered all of the areas. I wish to say at the outset that I agree with him. It is an issue that we need to address. I am going to set out the existing legislation and the powers that local authorities have, but I will come back to his points later in terms of what we can do going forward. The Derelict Sites Act 1990 imposes a general duty on every owner and occupier of land to take all reasonable steps to ensure the …

Again, Tramore is a stunning spot with which I am very familiar. He is right that it is a shame to see many of our beautiful coastal towns, which are important for tourism, impacted by dereliction. It should not be happening. As I mentioned, there are schemes to incentivise property owners to bring properties back into use. That also helps to solve the housing crisis, which is key. That is the way it should be done. There is an opportunity here. I am sure the Senator will have an opportunity to contribute to the re…

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I know housing delivery in particular is something he is very passionate about and that he has always been dedicated to. As part of the programme for Government, the Government committed to launching a new, comprehensive starter home programme across the public, private and approved housing body, AHB, sector. This promotes home ownership and secures long-term rental tenures for young people and fresh start applicants. As stated in the programme for Government, the start…

The Deputy is right. The trends relating to the cost of purchasing properties is concerning but we firmly believe the best way to address that is by delivery. That is why we are committed to delivering 300,000 homes from 2025 to 2030. Since Housing for All started we have delivered 10,000 affordable solutions and that is gathering momentum. Keys for many of the affordable housing schemes in our county of Cork have been given out over the past 12 months or so and there are more in the pipeline. That is something we …

The Deputy raised a relevant point about the first home scheme. It is increasing in popularity as reflected by the numbers of people choosing to avail of it. If the goalposts seem to be moving in respect of the cost of houses and many properties are falling outside the scheme, the Minister has made a commitment to be flexible and agile in reviewing the schemes if that is needed. That will be ongoing. Decisions made on an approach to housing will not be set in stone. The previous Government and this Government have …

I know from our time shared on Cork County Council the delivery of affordable housing was something on which the Deputy was insistent and I am glad that much of this is coming to fruition. The Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver affordable housing at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. The Government’s ambition is to build on progress to date under Housing for All and deliver more than 300,000 homes in the period from 2025 to 2030 with an annua…

I am very familiar with his passion for affordable housing. He was always an advocate for social housing of all sorts and in Cork county in particular, he has been one of the key voices in ramping up the delivery of different affordable housing solutions. There is a project to deliver 60 cost-rental homes in Kilnagleary, Carrigaline, which is very close to the Deputy's home area and is something he advocated for. Our commitment today is that such projects will be ramped up at speed and we will deliver them as quick…

Before Housing for All, there were no affordable housing schemes. Many of these schemes are in the process of being designed or built, or keys are being handed over for the first time. There is momentum and we expect acceleration in terms of scaling up and the number of affordable housing schemes that will be available. I have to give credit to Cork County Council officials in particular. Their social housing delivery has been among the best, top notch, and they deserve credit for that. I also see their embrace of …

I thank the Deputy for the question. I know voids and refurbishment are issues he has raised previously. The management and maintenance of local authority housing stock, including pre-letting repairs to vacant properties, is a matter for each individual local authority under section 58 of the Housing Act 1966. Local authorities also have a legal obligation to ensure all their tenanted properties are compliant with the provisions of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. Notwithstanding this, my…

I agree that void houses are an issue, not just from an antisocial behaviour point of view. They are low-hanging fruit in terms of getting houses back into the social housing stock, where they are desperately needed. Some local authorities are better than others but, to be fair, a lot of progress has been made. More than 25,000 voids have been returned to the housing stock in recent years, which means the schemes we have introduced are working. I do not have specific figures in respect of Limerick local authority. …

I thank Deputy Gould for his contribution. As I said, €11,000 is not a limit - more can be put into individual houses - but that is an average. It can also be combined with those energy efficiency grants. Much can be done in terms of improving houses with those energy efficiency grants, which, as I said, are upwards of €48,000. If there are problem areas, I know the Minister, Deputy Browne, has an open-door policy. If there are geographical areas or certain areas in which certain issues need bespoke approaches, I a…