I thank the Senators for the amendments. I believe amendment No. 8 is still live and has not been withdrawn. I have a couple of things to say about amendments Nos. 8 and 9. It is good that these matters are being teased out and I know they formed a significant part of the Committee Stage debate. I am going to give a more detailed response for the record of the House. Senator Cummins made the point that to follow the proposals in the new section 10(9)(b) proposed under amendment No. 9 would mean excluding people fro…

Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an Teachta Calleary. I welcome this important debate. Decent people who bought a house in good faith, in which to live and raise their family in their local community, have found themselves in an impossible situation through no fault of their own. Crumbling walls have turned bright dreams into darkness. Mica is a blight on these communities and it has devastated lives. I want a scheme that works for these ordinary homeowners by providing a very clear pathway out of this sco…

I never heard that.

Are membership cards being given out?

I thank Senator Norris, and other colleagues, for the welcome. I said some months ago that we would try to initiate as much legislation as we could in the Seanad. I served in the Seanad before I served in the Dáil. Even though we are in the Dáil Chamber, Senator Norris's presence raises the talent level of debates here as well. This Second Stage debate has been good. It covered many aspects of the Bill. I ask those who have not looked at the Bill in detail to do so and to familiarise themselves with it because it i…

At its heart this Bill is about the State stepping up to provide affordable homes for purchase and rent using all means at its disposal to tackle the housing crisis. The ongoing affordability crisis has reduced home ownership rates to historic lows. It has increased the age of the average first-time buyer by almost a decade to 35 years of age. Ireland has plummeted from a world leader to below the EU average rate of home ownership. For an entire generation, owning their own home is slipping through their fingers as…

I apologise.

On a point of order, I am assuming the Senator is not accusing me of lying. Is she? If she is, I ask her to withdraw it immediately.

The Senator might, in her own party, be used to bullying people, but she will not bully me. She needs to withdraw that. I have lied to no one.

Does the Senator withdraw it?

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “notes that the highest ever budget for housing in the history of the State was made available in 2021, with €3.3 billion in funding; accepts that there is an overall need to protect pathways to home ownership; further notes that the Government is bringing forward significant amounts of new social housing supply, with an intention to provide 50,000 new social housing dwellings over the next five years, with substantial le…

This Government will help them out and I hope Sinn Féin will see fit to support the affordable housing Bill when it stops delaying its passage in committee. Sinn Féin's political tactics are slash and burn, not build and renew. First-time buyers are collateral damage in that political game, which is what part of today's motion is. Its record on helping first-time buyers is all too clear. The party publicly opposed the help-to-buy scheme, which ensured 22,000 homeowners got keys to their doors. Deputy Doherty and hi…

The Deputy and his party oppose everything.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “notes that: — the Government is fully committed to tackling high rents and ensuring an increase in the supply of affordable high quality rental accommodation through continued significant capital investment, including Cost Rental and other means and in a manner that respects the security of tenure for renters by ensuring equity and fairness for landlords and tenants; — the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Acts 200…

I thank the Deputy for his question. As he will know, the Government's stated objective is to focus strongly on new build activity and, in particular, local authority-led new build activity. The latter will comprise 9,500 of the target of 12,750 set down for this year. The new ambition under the programme for Government is to deliver 50,000 new social houses primarily through new build. That is what we want to see. Leasing is one of a range of options available to supplement delivery, particularly at a time of acut…

It is a fair question. It is timely in the sense that tomorrow evening the House will take Second Stage of the Planning and Development (Amendment) (Repeal of Part V Leasing) Bill 2021 brought forward by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan. I have indicated that the Government will support that Bill moving to Committee Stage. To be frank, Part V leasing has been up to now a very small part of overall provision, with 16 such leases in 2020. That said, it is not a mechanism that should be expanded much further than that. I know …

It is being assessed and evaluated. I want to review it. As the Deputy will know, we have just over 20,000 tenants in leased properties. The cost of that to the Exchequer is €250 million per annum. They are secure homes for people right now and we have to ensure that continues to be supported through the social housing current expenditure programme, SHCEP. There is a distinct change in the programme for Government in terms of housing targets. We want to move toward direct build and to empower local authorities to b…

We will come back to it. It is being reviewed.

I thank the Deputy. While the Government's objective is to focus strongly on local authority-led build activity, long-term leasing is an important option available to authorities to supplement delivery and secure high-quality social housing on a long-term basis. Lease payments are paid to the property owner based on a discounted market rent, with the level of discount reflecting the variation in maintenance and management responsibilities taken on by the owner. The maximum lease is 25 years and rents are reviewed e…

The Deputy is probably referring to the Herbert Hill development. That was the first enhanced leasing project approved by the Department. Following the approval, a standard review took place on all application procedures. As a result of the review, it was decided that an additional requirement for approval under the scheme would be that a local authority would, in addition to any red book valuation provided by the proposer, also provide a valuation on its own behalf. The purpose of this was to provide an additional…