I welcome the representatives from SOS Dublin Bay and others from right across the bay. I have had the pleasure of engaging with them and that is why I wanted to take this Bill myself. I very much appreciate the work of Deputy Bacik and her commitment. We can work together. There are some aspects of the Bill that might be conflicting, and I will outline those. I am not in any way raising them to criticise the legislation as they will comprise an important part of the discussion. The Bill will progress through Secon…

That is another story, which I will not go into on the floor of the Dáil.

Indeed. That is a matter of opinion. I have appointed a research team from University College Cork, UCC, to consider the findings of a recently conducted public survey to help gather the evidence base needed to identify bathers' behaviour and investigate the feasibility of real-time monitoring. That is what I would really like to get to. People could make up their own minds then. If people have the information, they will know where they may go in the winter or may not go, and obviously there will be certain risks f…

Was that the Deputy's first ever protest? I would have thought so.

I am pleased to introduce this Bill to Seanad Éireann today. I thank the Seanad for facilitating this important and urgent legislation. I acknowledge concerns about the limits on debate time and the fact that the pre-legislative scrutiny report has not been published. However, the urgency of the issues at hand to address the housing crisis requires immediate legislative action. I appreciate the Seanad's assistance in achieving that. I want to set out the background and why such swift actions are needed. The Bill wa…

A vote has been called in the Dáil Chamber.

I will check with the Government Whip, but I believe I am required to attend the vote in the Dáil, unfortunately. Beidh mé ar ais.

I thank the Senators for their thoughtful contributions today. To put this in context, it is about urgent interim measures regarding An Bord Pleanála. Senator Moynihan and other Senators raised issues about the need for a consolidated planning Bill; we are doing that. We are bringing forward consolidated planning legislation, which I intend to bring to Cabinet on 13 December. It is the culmination of about 15 months of work looking at the various issues regarding planning since the Planning and Development Act 2000…

First, I welcome the residents who are here this evening for this important debate and, indeed, the representatives of the Construction Defects Alliance and the Apartment Owners Network. I welcome the opportunity to debate this. It is important and I am not opposing the motion. There are elements within it that I do not agree with, specifically around the area of the pyrite resolution board, which Deputy Ó Broin and I debated last week. We need bespoke legislation to underpin this scheme. We cannot fit a square peg…

That is not the waiting time. It is the scale of the programme.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I fully acknowledge the difficulties that owners and residents of many apartments and duplexes are facing and the stress caused by these defects in their homes. We are committed, as a Government, to supporting such homeowners. That commitment was included in the programme for Government and, from that, as the Deputy will know, I established a working group to examine defects in housing in February 2021. It reported at the end of July, I published the report …

We are looking at interim measures because there are a number of apartment complexes and multi-unit developments that have very specific issues now. One of the reasons I met representatives of the insurance sector last week was to see what interim measures we can take. I am not going to delay on that. However, what I need to do, as the Deputy appreciates, is bring the recommendations to Cabinet, and that will be done before the recess. I intend at that stage to brief residents, and certainly to brief Opposition spo…

This scheme is going to be with us for a number of years, unfortunately. The work that is being carried out is very important. Some 28,000 different homes have participated in that survey so we now have the best handle on the scale and type of defects that exist. We will not delay. I thank the residents who have continued to engage with us in a very constructive way. The Government will help these homeowners. I have stated that it is a nettle we need to grasp, and we will do so. We will be looking at retrospection …

I say the following to be helpful. The Deputy is of the view that we could use first the pyrite remediation scheme and the Act that underpins it. That would not be the way forward. From discussing the matter with residents and, in particular, the Construction Defects Alliance, I know that is not their view. We will need bespoke legislation. That does not mean we will not bring in interim measures to help, particularly in the context of fire safety. I am aware of the need in that regard. I participated in the "Prime…

As the Deputy will be aware, the aim of the emergency winter eviction ban is to afford time for housing supply to increase and to reduce the burden on homelessness services and the pressure on tenants and the residential tenancies market. To assist in managing demands on housing services after the winter period and to ensure there is no cliff edge, as referred to by the Deputy, on 1 April, the ban provides for deferred notices of termination to take effect on a phased basis from 1 April to 18 June 2023. As a furthe…

To give an update on purchase for tenants in situ , we have more than 700 properties now. The number is increasing every day. I gave a commitment at the select committee last week that we are breaking up those data between homes. We had a target of 200 homes to purchase this year. We have well exceeded that. Most of the number above that is purchased with tenants in situ . I will gladly share that information with Deputies when we have collated it. I have been clear with local authorities and there is no issue what…

As regards the recent media report, published yesterday morning, in respect of us setting aside the environmental assessments, that is totally incorrect. It was an incorrect report. There is no question of us doing that. We are drafting the specific amendment at the moment. I met with the Attorney General last night. As soon as we have that amendment, I will be happy to ensure that Government and Opposition Deputies are briefed. I would like us to be able to bring this forward and, as much as possible, get broad ag…

The LDA is on schedule to complete the register of relevant lands in line with the target delivery date and the register will be made available in an online map format in the coming weeks and in advance of the end of this year. Its contents are informed by the LDA's State lands database and by engagement with the Property Registration Authority, Ordinance Survey Ireland and other relevant public bodies. Relevant public land is defined in the Land Development Agency Act 2021 as all land within a census town owned by…

I thank the Deputy again for the question. I understand what she is saying. One of the priorities I had when I became a Minister was to legislate for the LDA, which we have done. The agency has capitalised and it is delivering its first homes. It has done extensive work on planning and mapping out relevant sites. It is important that people understand that the register of relevant lands will show the State-owned lands. I remember this coming up in debates before. It is not a question that high amenity or recreation…

I know Galway city and county well. I have been out in Connemara on several occasions as well as in the city. There are lands in the county, such as the Dyke Road site, which the Deputy will be familiar with. There is also the Sandy Road site. There are sites there we can develop. The register will deal with State lands. The Deputy mentioned the example of lands owned by religious orders. We are seeing some of that come forward in local areas. I want to see that happen. I have written to both of the main churches a…