I move amendment No. 13: In page 13, line 11, to delete “5 years” and substitute “3 years”.

I support this amendment. It is extremely important because we know that, with the development levy waivers that lapsed last year, a lot of the commencement data we have at the moment is very unreliable. That is why this amendment is important.

There is no clarity on student fees.

I second what Deputy Mac Lochlainn said. We also need to have a debate in this House around the proposed changes regarding apartment sizes. This is the fourth or fifth time that we have attempted to do this in the past decade, going back over various Ministers, and none of it has actually worked. We believe that these proposals are not evidence based and they are not going to deal with the substantial issues that are there.

I thank the Minister of State for his statement, although, unfortunately, I did not hear it. The Bill is not in the summer legislative programme. We have not had any pre-legislative scrutiny, which is a missed opportunity. We should have had more time to hear from the planning experts in this regard. Given that we are taking Second Stage of the Bill today and Committee and Remaining Stages tomorrow, we believe this is far too little time to consider the ramifications of legislation with this amount of detail. Much …

Sometimes I wonder what this country has against young people and, in turn, what this Government has against young people. Young people always pay the price: they paid the price for the sins of the crash, for the banks and for the property developers. This whole calamity has been really badly handled. The Minister opened a can of worms on the radio the other week and unleased a political football that has, unfortunately, led to students, many of whom join us in the Gallery, being kicked around the place by Fianna F…

I call Deputy O'Connell on behalf of Deputy Boland.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the dog breeding national register. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss respite services at St. Mary of the Angels and St. Francis Special School, Whitefield, Beaufort, County Kerry. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss the need to ensure adequate safeguards for animal welfare as part of the screening for upcoming legisl…

I thank the Minister of State. I apologise, as I hit the bell in my haste.

My grandad was actually in one of these affected nursing homes in 2024. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, would know this nursing home very well. It backs onto our constituency. My grandad was there for over a week when he was discharged from hospital. He said the staff were lovely, and they were, but there were not enough of them evidently. He was often left to go to the toilet on his own. My mum, who is his primary carer, said that when she collected him from the nursing home, the main thing that she took …

Lethargy.

As a public representative from the west of Ireland, I want to talk to the Minister of State as another public representative from the west of Ireland about the need to connect Shannon Airport to the rail network. This can be done within five years. It needs to be included in the NDP review. What a testament it would be to the Minister of State and what a legacy he would leave if he was the person to deliver it and get it over the line. It could even be named "the Canney train". There is existing commuter rail infr…

After a very successful Pride at the weekend, and given the fact that we are coming up to ten years of the Gender Recognition Act being passed, I am calling for statements on Pride, particularly regarding the issues in trans healthcare and the fact people have to go abroad when they should not have to.

Many men live with the trauma inflicted upon them by a society that told them they should not exist. Despite an apology in 2018, no action has been taken by Government to put a process in place to disregard these convictions. Many men are living with the shame and stigma of these convictions. The shame and trauma drove many people to their graves. Gay men were driven underground by this criminalisation. This Bill is long overdue and I urge the Government to support it. I stand here as a gay man. I am fortunate to l…

The plan was supposed to be published in July. I understand from what the Minister said and what we have seen in the media that it will be delayed until September. We know the Government has a target to deliver 303,000 homes by 2030 and that the target will be missed again this year by around 10,000. Will the Minister give the House an outline of what measures to scale up delivery are being considered and what he will do about uncommenced planning permissions? Can he guarantee in line with the NDP review that the f…

The Minister did not address the recommendation from the Housing Commission to increase social and affordable housing to 20% of all stock. This badly needs to be done. It is a key plank of the commission's recommendations. I hope the Minister might be able to give us an outline of when each section of the Planning and Development Act will be enacted, including timelines, and whether he intends to look at tweaking the croí conaithe and secure tenancy affordable rental investment schemes to make them more viable for …

When will €5 million of funding be released for infrastructure at the Mungret site in Limerick? This is a partnership between Limerick City and County Council and the Land Development Agency, LDA. Essentially, it is funding for a plaza and a link road to allow them to proceed to tender and construction for 250-plus homes.

From the substance of the Minister's reply, it sounds like this funding is being delayed until the new infrastructure fund is active. Is there a way he can frontload the delivery of the infrastructure fund to release the funding? As far as I understand, there was a proposal from the LDA that the €5 million shortfall would be added to the purchase price of the affordable homes, which is totally unacceptable. Through the framework, there is potential to deliver 1,950 homes in Mungret. From talking to the local author…

I thank the Minister. From my point of view and that of the local authority, this entire project is essentially being held up because of €5 million, which is a very small sum of money in the grand scale of things. This project has been in planning since last year and was first announced in May 2024. We have had the highest percentage increase in house prices in Limerick in the past year because we have such a shortage of housing. From the Minister's response, it sounds like the release of the €5 million will be del…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the limitations of the supplementary welfare allowance. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the need for improved respite services at St. Mary of the Angels and St. Francis Special School, Whitefield Beaufort, County Kerry. Deputy Pat Buckley - To discuss the flood relief programme for Rathcormac, Castlemartyr, Killeagh and …