What would the Deputy do - get rid of them?

I have not said a word.

I certainly respect the Deputy's opinion.

I thank the Deputy for his question. The review of the social housing income limits is nearing completion. I received a submission. We are working through some changes in that regard. To be fair to the Deputy, he has raised this matter on a number of occasions, as have others on both sides of the House. The income limits have not been reviewed for years. There will be changes made. We are doing this as well in the context of the roll-out of our affordable schemes, such as cost rental, that will pertain to those who…

They have a certain discretion, which we ask them to operate. The work will be done in this session.

Derrybrien does not have a distinguished history in regard to planning, installation, and its impact on the topography of the site and on residents in the area. It has been the subject of a very recent decision. As a country, we have been in infringement of EU directives in this space. It goes without saying that my Department and every other Department will play their part in ensuring we have the energy security we need. The case regarding Derrybrien has, in effect, been closed, but all options in regard to energy…

I am aware of the issue with Drogheda wastewater treatment plant and I thank the Deputy for raising it. Odour neutralising treatment will be implemented at the main pumping station this year. I assure him that I will make further contact with the chief executive of Irish Water to make sure any works that can be done are expedited. As the Deputy knows, the Government is putting €6 billion into capital infrastructure on a multi-annual basis between now and 2026. That has never been done before. Great progress is bein…

Following the Deputy's intervention today, I assure him that I will make contact at a senior level with Irish Water and revert back to him.

I can confirm for the Deputy that Wexford is not being excluded. No county is excluded from the affordable housing fund. It is open to every local authority to apply and bring schemes forward. We have the most comprehensive affordable housing policy in the history of the State. The fund is open and I have encouraged all local authorities to access it. We will have the first home shared equity scheme across all 31 local authorities and all 26 counties in the State open from 1 July. We are delivering affordable housi…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — as recognised in the Government's Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland (Housing for All) strategy, there is a housing crisis in Ireland affecting ordinary working people who aspire to the security of home ownership, which demands a response from the Government on an unprecedented scale; — Ireland is experiencing an acute gap between housing supply and demand, exacerbated by the economic eff…

This is Sinn Féin's policies. Sinn Féin states it will deliver "the largest public housing building programme in the history of the State." We are actually doing it. How Deputy Ó Broin was saying Sinn Féin will do it is by bringing total capital spend to €2.8 billion per year. We are putting in €4 billion per year, €1.2 billion more than Sinn Féin.

Now let us talk about affordability. The Affordable Housing Act 2021 is in place. We have published the affordable purchase regulations. It is open. There will be people in affordable purchase homes this year. Deputy Ó Broin has neglected to mention Project Tosaigh and the delivery through the LDA. We will have hundreds of affordable purchase homes this year and hundreds more cost rental. What is the Sinn Féin affordable purchase scheme? People need to know this. Eligibility for affordable housing would be set at a…

They will not be eligible.

We will not do this again, will we, a Cheann Comhairle? Deputy Ó Broin, as he behaved last week, is consistently interrupting.

Sinn Féin's plan is there as well. It does not address any capacity issues. We must be realistic in what can be delivered. It is important one is open, honest and realistic with people. What we have detailed for each local authority, and agreed with each of them, is their direct delivery and that does not include LDA delivery, Part 5 delivery and first home shared equity delivery.

What have we targeted? The real target, not the targets that have come out of the mouths of Sinn Féin, that we have set between this and then is 29,000 affordable homes between now and 2026. This is happening already. How do we do that? We need to increase supply and, to respond to Deputy Gould, it is a problem when people continually object to housing. That is just a reality.

Let us see what is really happening out there. Let us look at the figures with regards to increased housing supply. In the first quarter of this year, there were 5,669 new homes completed. There were 34,846 commencement notices received in the 12 months to February this year. It was the single biggest number of commencement notices in a 12-month period since figures were collated in 2011, and it was the same with quarter 1. We need to make sure there are homes for people to purchase. How are we doing that? We are d…

Deputy Carthy was not here last week for the debate on rent-----

-----but the Deputy is carrying on as his colleagues did last week by continually interrupting me.

I respect this Chamber and always have. Deputy Carthy may not, and that is fine. What I would say to Deputy Carthy is that his own party's spokesperson, in an article recently, talked about negotiating with developers and flipping developments, but Deputy Ó Broin will put in place a strict price control. Then Deputy Ó Broin will move people out of commercial construction with some type of magic wand that he will have, and tell them not to build those hospitals and schools and instead to build these homes. One does …