The Minister has said this is an honest plan. There has been a lot of spin on this plan. The first bit of spin was during the launch, where there was a lot of talk about increasing home ownership levels. If this plan is implemented and meets its targets, home ownership levels will continue to decrease in Ireland. That is a fact. Incidentally, that is not for the worst of reasons; it is because the plan sets out the construction of more cost rental and social homes. However, at the launch speaker after speaker said …

First, I thank Deputy Bacik for bringing forward this Bill. The Social Democrats will support this Bill's passage to Committee Stage as there are many positive measures in the Bill. That is, of course, if the Government majority on the committee actually allow time for this to be scrutinised on Committee Stage. No time to date has been allocated and given to Opposition or Government backbencher Bills on Committee Stage yet. It is welcome that the Government is letting these Bills go forward to the Committee on Hous…

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage needs to attend the House and we should debate Housing for All. On the Order of Business last week, I raised the comments made by the Minister on 24 June in which he incorrectly stated that the Central Bank had given approval to the shared equity scheme as part of what was then the Affordable Housing Bill. I asked that those comments be corrected, but they have not been. The remarks made by the Minister last week and in the letter sent to the Ceann Comhairle d…

-----than he spent on Committee Stage in the Dáil. We need him to come to the House, explain why he made that statement and gave incorrect information, and update the record.

I would be happy for us to extend our time to facilitate our request. The Tánaiste has not responded to the points I made about the record of 24 June when the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage incorrectly stated that his shared equity scheme had received approval from the Central Bank. We cannot allow that statement to go uncorrected.

It is completely incorrect.

More than 40 years ago, 48 young people went for a night out to the Stardust and they never came home. The families and loved ones have been waiting more than 40 years for the truth and justice for their loved ones. The latest delay in the Stardust inquest, because the Legal Aid Board has refused to release funding to the legal team for the families, is completely unacceptable. Funding has been released for all of the other parties in the inquest so they can prepare properly for it. The families need to be treated …

I welcome the Bill, which the Social Democrats will support, and thank Deputy Ó Broin for introducing it. People who are struggling to pay rents and looking to buy an affordable home are wondering why on earth the Government has granted this exemption when we need more affordable homes now. That we will miss out on thousands more affordable homes due to this exemption is not acceptable to people who are looking for the security and peace of mind they would have if they were able buy one of the affordable homes we w…

They are not agreed. In June the Minister with responsibility for housing advised me in a reply to a question in the Dáil that the proposed shared equity scheme had been approved and passed by the Central Bank. We now have confirmation that this is not the case. In fact, we know the Central Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, have both criticised that scheme indicating it would potentially push up house prices.

I want the Minister with responsibility for housing to come into the House to make a statement and answer questions on why he misled this Dáil. He told the Dáil unequivocally and clearly that the Central Bank had approved and passed the shared equity scheme when no such formal approval had been given. The statement he issued on this today does not clarify his statements in the Dáil and why he told the Dáil that. I ask that he comes into the Dáil to answer questions on why he incorrectly misinformed the Dáil and sai…

The Government has committed to spending at least €1 billion to lease 2,400 homes from investment funds. It would be much more cost-effective to build new homes. This would also create new supply that would mean the State would not be competing with first-time buyers and pushing up prices by doing these deals with investment funds. The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers has said the State should seek 50% discounts off full market rents when agreeing long-term leases of houses. Instead, the State seek…

The Green Party in government is supporting a model of cost rental that involves profit returns for investment funds. That is what is happening. Last night, the Government voted to provide tax exemptions for cuckoo funds to buy up homes. In addition to these tax exemptions, the State is incentivising the bulk buying of homes by investment funds by copper-fastening guarantees of rental income for 25 years. The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers has said the State should be seeking 50% discounts on mar…

It is completely unacceptable that the Government has allocated only three hours for almost 100 amendments to be taken and to use the guillotine in this way. This Bill deserves proper scrutiny, engagement and oversight. It is quite appropriate we are starting with amendments looking for proper scrutiny, accountability and oversight. The key flaw in this Bill is that it leaves much up to the Minister by way of regulation. For example, there is no definition of "affordability" in this Bill. It is an affordable housin…

We absolutely need affordable housing for those on average incomes. This is what is needed. We have reasons to be concerned that this is not what will happen. The Minister and the Government have given us those reasons because there has been talk about price limits for affordable apartments of up to €500,000. There has been talk of cost rental being set at a 25% discount off the full market rate, whereas in other countries it is done on a not-for-profit basis and it is much more affordable than that. We keep on get…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 6, to delete lines 28 to 33 and substitute the following: “(3) All proposed regulations to be made under the Act shall be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas for consideration. No regulations shall be made until they are approved by both Houses.”.

I support these amendments as well. The role of community-led trusts needs to be supported and if it is not fully incorporated into the Bill, we need to do that. The trusts are to be found in other parts of Europe, including Scotland. In recent years, the Scottish Land Commission has done significant work on this. It has a good alternative role in providing housing which is affordable if it is community-led. There are also benefits in design and getting community input and buy-in, not just in the immediate delivery…

The issue I have with this Bill, as with much of the Government's approach on housing and certain other areas, is that it is based on very good social democratic ideas, which are supported by progressive parties if not taken from them, but those ideas are, in effect, undermined and subverted by trying to put for-profit models onto models that only work because they are successful not-for-profit models. That is the whole point. Affordable housing is done well in other countries where it is done on a not-for-profit b…

I am speaking to my amendments Nos. 12 and 24 in this group. When it comes to why housing is unaffordable, private developers are at the heart of this. Turning to them to try to deliver affordable housing when they are the ones who are pushing up prices, which we all understand is part of their business model, is a completely flawed approach. Public private partnerships will mean so-called affordable homes will be delivered that are far too expensive. Tens of thousands of people who need these homes will, therefore…

I move amendment No. 6: In page 8, to delete line 4. This amendment is grouped with amendments Nos. 35 and 41 and they would all have the same effect, which is to remove open market dwellings as an option for providing affordable housing. My issue is with the Government potentially buying houses on the open market for the provision of social and affordable homes, thus reducing the overall general supply of housing, pushing up prices and competing with first-time buyers. Instead, what should happen, of course, is ad…

Those are the reasons I tabled the amendments.