Today is a very significant day. We committed in the programme for Government of the three parties that we would grasp this nettle and that we would deal with the issue of defects in apartments and duplexes. A significant Government decision was taken today to provide 100% redress. Costs already incurred will be covered by the scheme. It is important to say that those who have contracted work, which is either due to start or who are in the middle of that work – approximately 32% of the properties affected are in th…

As the Deputy will be aware, the new revised and updated scheme the Government introduced through legislation passed last year is the basis for how we move forward on 100% redress for families affected by defective concrete blocks. We are doing that. We have been engaging with the local authorities on the draft regulations and we will receive feedback from them. I expect to meet with the homeowner representatives within the next two weeks. How mortgage lenders are dealing with some homeowners is an issue that has b…

I welcome the opportunity to once again address the House on the issue of the report of the Working Group to Examine Defects in Housing and to inform Deputies of the steps this Government is taking to provide support to homeowners who find themselves in a difficult situation through no fault of their own. I thank Deputies across the House in this regard. We will sometimes have charged discussions or disagreements regarding policy, but on this issue, in the main, we have been able to work constructively together. Th…

I wish the Ceann Comhairle and all the staff of the Houses a very happy Christmas. I hope they get time to enjoy it with family and friends. I wish Deputy Ó Broin, his colleagues and all colleagues a happy Christmas. This is probably the last housing debate this side of the new Government. We wait to see what Saturday holds. I wish colleagues a very happy and peaceful Christmas and hope people get to spend some time with their friends and families and have a little down time. We are all acutely aware of the challen…

We will deliver this year about 10,500 new social homes across the country. I think even Deputy Boyd Barrett may say that is a significant uplift and it is welcome to the 10,500 households, many of whom I have the pleasure of meeting right across the country, who are getting their safe and secure home for life. What is important as well is that, for the first time in nearly a generation, we will have affordable homes to purchase through our local authorities, through the first home scheme and through the Land Devel…

I will address that. Also, just this week, I approved another 142 cost rental tenancies which will be delivered late this year and early next year. There is a really strong pipeline coming through. We would always look at acquisition, which is important, where appropriate. We are looking at schemes at the moment. I have already mentioned dormant or stalled planning permissions, where we are looking at partnering or purchasing to deliver affordable and social homes. I want to use the opportunity to reiterate the imp…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, noting that the Government on 13th December, 2022, nominated Mr. John Curran, Ms. Maura Quinn, Mr. Alex Attwood and Professor Caroline Fennell for designation by the President to be ordinary members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin , recommends that, pursuant to section 9(9) of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, Mr. John Curran, Ms. Maura Quinn, Mr. Alex Attwood and Professor Caroline Fennell be designated by the President to be ordinary members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin . I welcome the opportunity …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very pleased to bring the Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill to Second Stage in the Dáil. I will go through this much-needed legislation in a minute. However, I first wish to deal with some confusion that may exist. The Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill is entirely separate from the consolidated planning Bill that I brought to Cabinet yesterday. That is very important legislation which has been worked through with the…

Yes, but I have circulated my script.

That is not in this Bill.

That is not in this Bill either.

I am just trying to be helpful. That is not in this Bill either.

I thank all Deputies and appreciate the, for the most part, considered responses they have given. In response to Deputy Verona Murphy, who is not here, I live in a terraced duplex house. I like it, as do many people. It might not suit her in Wexford. That is fine, I take the point. There are urgent matters in the Bill. I welcome the support of the main Opposition party for the legislation and have taken on board some of the comments made by Deputy Ó Broin, as well as the areas of concern. Everyone knows An Bord Ple…

It is important legislation because it updates planning law going back not just 23 years but to the 1950s. We need a modern, fit-for-purpose planning system that serves the people and country to deliver the homes and strategic infrastructure we need. Central to that will be and has to be public participation. We have to look at how that is. Some comments have been made that I will not respond to but central to that is that people need to have their say. We need a plan-led approach also. There should be no surprises…

I thank Deputy O’Callaghan and his colleagues, Deputy Ó Broin and others, for tabling the amendment. I will put this and the timeframe in context. I am not accepting the amendment and will tell the House why. I will also take up one of the suggestions Deputy Ó Broin made, which is something I intended to do in any event. If we look at this Bill and at what we are doing, the context as to why I will not accept this amendment is that we have to strengthen the capacity of the board itself. Everyone agrees with that. W…

When those 12-month appointments cease, we must ensure we have a system in place where people can apply for new roles in a new and reformed an coimisiún pleanála. We need to have that as there has to be a transition. We cannot have a cliff edge between one system and the other. The reform of the appointment process for board members to the board of An Bord Pleanála is a critical step to ensure the impartiality and transparency of the board and, most importantly, to restore confidence in the board. It is in no way, …

It is an interim process.

I thank Deputy Matthews for his intervention. It puts it in context. Just before he arrived, I mentioned that the existing system is not fit for purpose when it comes to appointments and it excludes people. An open and transparent competition process is open to everyone. I said that earlier but I reinforce what Deputy Matthews has said. He is correct that it should be open for everyone to apply. We have detailed in the legislation the type of skills and expertise we would be looking for, which is a vast improvement…

To be fair, in any of my dealings with him on any legislation, Deputy Nash has always endeavoured to be, and always has been, constructive. I will not accept the amendment, however, and I will explain why. First, it is very broad. The amendment proposes that "Each amendment to the Act of 2000 effected by this Act shall continue in operation for 18 months". As I said earlier, I do not want a cliff edge either. We will bring forward the open competition, for example, which I firmly believe will be a much better, a mo…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 5, after line 26, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 4 of Act of 2000 3. Section 4(1) of the Act of 2000 is amended by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (f): “(fa) development to which section 179A applies;”.”. I propose to address Government amendments Nos. 3, 42, 43 and 49 together, starting with amendment No. 42. This amendment proposes to amend section 179 of the 2000 Act relating to the Part 8 planning approval process for local authority-owned…