To answer the Deputy's first question, I am not aware of any other issues with regard to valuations and independent assessments. If the Deputy is aware of any, I ask him to bring it to my attention. We have made abundantly clear to local authorities what the procedure is. We have had instances where properties have lain vacant for a long number of months, which is not something I support. With Covid, some properties were kept back for contingency reasons to house people in the event that they needed to isolate. The…

I appreciate the opportunity to address this matter. I met virtually with the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland and its representatives went through the report with me. It is a very informative and good piece of work, which the SCSI did with my senior officials. We have taken that work on and are continuing some collaborative work with the organisation. The reports, Real Cost of New Housing Delivery 2020 and the Real Costs of New Apartment Delivery, published in 2021, set out the typical costs associated with …

I am pleased the Deputy mentioned that. There are a few initiatives. One very significant one was the creation of the Land Development Agency, which ensures that State-owned land is used productively. We bring land that has not been previously identified or used for housing into public use, and if we bring more land like that at a greatly reduced cost in many instances, effectively a zero value, that will have a positive impact on the overall cost of land because in many of those instances, the cost of land will be…

I fully understand the question. As the Deputy knows there are many aspects to this. In terms of direct interventions, the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, is one which involves the direct allocation of €200 million to provide for public infrastructure. There are issues with the planning process including delays and continued objections. There are some infamous delays affecting social and affordable homes on State-owned sites across the country. A group within the Department is working with the …

I thank Deputy Barry for the question. The fundamental point is that if we keep doing the same things, we will get the same results. We need new initiatives. We need to help first-time buyers and the members of "generation rent" who are stuck paying exorbitant rents. We are going to introduce our new cost-rental scheme, the first national scheme of its kind ever. The affordable purchase shared-equity scheme is being designed specifically to help first-time buyers to buy new homes at a price they can afford much soo…

A number of questions have been asked and a number of charges have been made. I believe in home ownership. Some others do not and that is fine. I believe it is an honest and just aspiration for people to have, and one that the State should support. I am not sure what Deputy Barry has against young people or potential first-time buyers and why he would not want to help them to own their own homes at an affordable rate or for them to be able to rent homes on a secure long-term basis through the new State-backed cost-…

It is hard to know where it begins and ends with Deputy Barry. I will say it again. There was 1% house price inflation over that period. There has been house price inflation. That is what we are talking about. This scheme is focused on those who need it most. I heard Deputy Barry and Deputy Boyd Barrett, in particular, talk about price caps. They are caps, not targets. In every area in the Deputy's adopted city of Cork there will be different prices for different homes. We are making sure with a cap that no one can…

It is a fair question, and one that I have asked. Deputy Pringle will respond to my reply. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility conditions set down under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated social housing assessment regulations 2011, as amended. The regulations prescribe net income limits for each local authority in three different bands, as Deputy Pringle will know. The income bands are expressed in t…

Deputy Pringle has asked a question and I have answered it straight. The review is under way. The Deputy need not try to make something out of it that it is not. I have said it on the record of the Dáil. I mean it. The review needs to happen, and it is happening. It has to take into account the new measures on affordability we are introducing. I am bringing changes forward for larger families. I have already signed them in respect of the additional income that would be permitted per child. Some of those measures ar…

I expect to have a full and wide-ranging debate in the autumn when we bring forward some of the changes. A fair bit of work is required. We have not had a review in this regard for well over ten years. It is long overdue. We face a major challenge in regard to social housing delivery. We have to be ambitious in terms of delivering them, but we also have to be realistic. I think we are. The Government's housing budget alone is over €3.3 billion. That is significant and we need more direct building of social homes al…

Tá an cheist seo faoi thithíocht. On the Deputy's specific question, I can take that up. To follow on from what previous Deputies and our colleagues have said, there is work to be done by Irish Water. They have more funding this year than they have had in many years. The national development plan review includes some requests about provision of waste water treatment and increasing capacity particularly in rural towns and villages and also in our regions. I know it is acute in Cork. I met with Deputy O'Connor and we…

It is about the delivery of the capital plan. The Deputy is correct, in that Mitchelstown, Glanmire and Midleton have capacity issues. He has raised this with me before. We need to see the delivery of the capital programme. I am happy to meet the Deputy regarding these specific issues in the towns in question. We will not be able to deliver the affordable homes we need for working people unless we can make progress in that area. I firmly believe we will. The serviced sites funding will support the delivery of a fur…

Affordable housing and its delivery for working people are central to the Government’s response to the housing crisis. As a Government, we believe in homeownership. It is a just and honest aspiration and it is one that should be supported by the State. That is why the affordable housing Bill we published yesterday is so important. It is to deliver a suite of measures to people all over the country who heretofore found they had been left out of the housing market. These measures will work. I thank the Deputy for his…

I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for the question. I have met many of those homeowners. I was actually in Donegal last summer, as the Deputy will know, when we opened the scheme for applications. I have quite a lot of personal experience with this type of remediation scheme. I was involved with the pyrite remediation scheme, going back to 2011, with the late Minister of State, Shane McEntee, who was heavily involved in the scheme. All schemes evolve from their initial condition. My colleague, Deputy Calleary from Mayo,…

I am not being confrontational on this in any way, shape or form. I have engaged extensively with the group and with homeowners in the area. To put this in context regarding the cost of remediation, the Deputy referenced the pyrite remediation scheme. The average cost of remediation under this scheme was between €60,000 and €80,000 per home. The average cost in respect of the defective blocks scheme is significantly higher than that, as the Deputy will know. The maximum approved cost is €275,000. Apples and oranges…

I thank Deputy Calleary for his constructive engagement. Many Members have engaged in a constructive way. I would have expected them to do so because we are not trying to be confrontational. Rather, we are trying to work through these issues. If people want to set up a campaign about the situation, that is fine, but I am interested in solutions. Deputy Calleary has engaged with us in that regard. We are looking at measures in connection with other State agencies as well. I do not control the banks. Deputy Mac Lochl…

Táim ag roinnt mo chuid ama leis an Teachta McAuliffe, sé nóiméad dom agus ceithre nóiméad don Teachta McAuliffe, le cead an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. On behalf of the Government, I thank the Deputies opposite, particularly those who brought forward this Bill, the purpose of which is to amend the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2021. The Bill specifically includes safeguards relating to student rents and the protections that should apply to students. I agree with previous speakers that lessons should be learned fro…

I am happy to stay because the Deputy always speaks eminent sense.

That is what Committee Stage is for. The Deputy might have missed my opening statement.

I will give the Deputy a copy of it.