I will be here.

The Senator will have to make his mind up on that.

All of the Senators who contributed, bar one, specifically referenced the value of local government members and the difficult work they have had to do right the way through this pandemic. It has been incredibly difficult. Local authorities and councillors are the tip of the spear when it comes to the State's response in the area of local democracy and its response to the pandemic in the context of the Community Call and all of the various initiatives that they took part in. I have had the pleasure of dealing with h…

If there are any Members who have not read the Bill-----

I advise they read it again. It is not a blanket extension. We have said that one will need to apply for it. In regard to the provisions within this Bill that I bring forward, I welcome the support and input of Members. I am open to receive any reasonable suggestions and amendments on Committee Stage. We must pass this Bill by the recess, as it is time bound. We have responded to a number of items of emergency legislation here. We briefed the Oireachtas joint committee. The Department did not have the time to go th…

If you like.

There has not been a blanket use of a guillotine.

Yesterday we concluded 20 hours of Committee Stage of the Land Development Agency Bill 2021. We have done ten hours on the Affordable Housing Bill 2021. We will be doing Committee Stage on this Bill as well. I am open to any suggestions or interventions in between Stages. It is always open for people to come to me. The Senator has made suggestions with regard to the vacant site levy. They are things we are looking at. I can assure the Senator any time there may be a restriction on time, it is only because of the ur…

I do not think it is a Q&A.

All the amendments in this grouping relate to the situation where an affordable dwelling has been acquired under agreement under Part V of the 2000 Act. I do not think the Senator is going to move amendment No. 1 but I will respond to all four amendments in detail because it is an important point and people should be very clear about where we are. As previously confirmed, Part V provisions are being drafted and will be brought forward via a Dáil Committee Stage amendment. I flagged this on Second Stage some time ba…

I thank the Senators for their contributions. Senator Warfield's amendment, which was accepted, was mentioned and this discussion has been useful. Amendment No. 2 adds public-public partnerships and not-for-profit arrangements to the existing arrangements, but Senator Higgins noted that I accepted a Committee Stage amendment to section 6 to include "arrangements with co-operatives, community housing trusts and other not for profit bodies" through which housing authorities will be able to provide affordable dwelling…

That is what we are doing with the LDA in respect of State lands. Senator Craughwell spoke about the Defence Forces. Nothing precludes the military from partnering with another body. Why I mentioned that expertise is required is because when we look at approved housing bodies we have a regulator. We do not want a proliferation of different bodies involved who do not have expertise in the area. The point is well made and well taken and I will come back to it on Committee Stage in the Dáil. I know the Senator will be…

I thank Senators for their contributions, particularly Senators Boyhan and Higgins. I have discussed this at length with my colleague, Senator Fitzpatrick. It is purely a matter of timing. It genuinely is, and perhaps I can explain that. This is detailed legislation. It is the most comprehensive item of affordable housing legislation ever brought forward. What Senators Fitzpatrick, Boyhan and Higgins and others want to achieve, I also want to achieve. I will explain the rationale for not accepting this right now. I…

I fully understand the sentiment from my colleagues and I will not repeat what has been said. We do not want this Bill to become a planning Bill. Our local authorities, An Bord Pleanála and so on are there to ensure that the appropriate location of dwellings is respected. I am confident that it will be. If we were to include this, we would run the risk that all other areas within the Bill would try to prescribe to this legislation things that we want done or that we know will be done. That is not in any way taking …

We all want to get to the same place. I am concerned there could be a distinction drawn between affordable housing versus other housing. Affordable housing is housing for families and there should be no distinction between affordable, social, or other types of tenures, such as cost-rental. It is housing for people. If we include specific defined additional measures in an affordable housing Bill – while that is not the Senator’s intent – it would draw a distinction between this type of housing versus another. That w…

I thank Senators Higgins, Ruane and Black for the amendment they tabled. It gives us an opportunity to talk this matter through. I will deal very quickly with some of the questions that have been asked. I will deal with the proposer of the amendment first, however. I genuinely do not believe it is appropriate to set an arbitrary limit, whether it be 15%, 20% or 25%. Senator Cummins put that well. Right now, particularly in our war in respect of the affordability issue, we need to use all the tools and weapons in ou…

It has not been accepted.

The Senator can attend a committee meeting any time he likes and ask questions there

I am listening.

That is fine.