Thank you. Our progress on housing is there to be seen. There are still-----

There are still significant-----

Every single time I try to respond to a question, the Deputy opposite-----

This is a very important issue.

I am not playing politics with it like you. You try to exploit problems and put nothing forward. All you want to do is exploit people's problems and difficulties.

I would say shame on you for that, Deputy Ó Broin.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 60, 80, 91, 93 and 116 together. Increased supply is key to meeting our housing need and addressing the challenges in the housing market. At its core, Housing for All seeks to significantly increase the supply of quality affordable homes. The plan comprises a suite of priority measures to transform our housing system, seeking to secure its sustainability into the future and support the delivery of more than 300,000 new homes by 2030. This would see an average build of 33,000 new hom…

That flows as well, because I wrote to Deputy Ó Broin recently asking him to publish his analysis of the impact of the abolition of the help to buy grant and first home scheme on house building and new housing supply.

Strangely, Deputies Ó Broin and Doherty decided not to respond in any way to those letters. That is the contrast between what we do and what others say they will do. In the background, other party colleagues-----

Sorry Eoin, I am not talking to you.

That would be a first.

The uplift in commencement activity is being mirrored at local level across the country. For example, there were 1,019 new homes commenced in Cork county in quarter 1 2024, the highest for this period since records began more than a decade ago. The national surge in April was also seen in Cork county, with a record figure of 806 commencements in April. While it will take time to see recent commencement activity converted to delivery of new homes, the medium- to long-term outlook is positive. Early forecasts suggest…

We know there is a lot more to do. There are people who want to buy their own home and are being helped by the Government schemes but we need to further ramp up supply. I thank Deputies O'Sullivan and O'Connor and other Government colleagues for their support for the delivery of housing. That is in stark contrast to the main Opposition party, whose members are serial objectors to new housing developments across the country. In this city and county alone, Sinn Féin has opposed more than 6,000 new homes, social and a…

I thank the Government Deputies for their comments. I put it to Deputy Gould that if there were medals awarded for objectors, Sinn Féin would be gold medalists as objectors right the way across the country.

I think we should let Eoin come into the Chamber on his own so he can just talk to himself and get all this rage and anger out of his system.

Will the Deputy talk through the-----

I will respond to Deputy Stanton first. Water-rock in Midleton is a magnificent development. The previous Minister deserves a lot of credit for that too with regard to the LIHAF funding. We were also able to use the affordable housing fund to deliver homes there. It is a magnificent development. It shows that Government schemes working together can actually help to drive not just social and affordable homes but also the private delivery within those estates. That is mixed tenure, which we all want. I was in Kilkenn…

They got an extra 30 seconds so perhaps I could just be able to answer this. We see those mixed tenure developments across the country. On the road infrastructure issue, I will raise this with the Minister for Transport. It is important that infrastructure comes up. I might come back in if I have a supplementary response with regard to sustainable compact growth guidelines to be published, which will help in that space.

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan. The first home scheme is a radical initiative that the Government introduced to bridge the gap in finance for those with mortgage approval and a deposit but who are still short in purchasing a new home. The State is stepping in and assisting them. The average equity we are providing across the country is €66,000, so it is a significant amount. If we take that together with the help to buy grant, the average amount available to first-time buyers is approximately €100,000. Many people on mi…

I thank the Deputy. The scheme is working. We have to acknowledge that schemes such as this one need to be supported because they help people to buy a home. The Deputy and my Government colleagues and I support homeownership. We want to help people who are working hard to own a home. That is why I would like the scheme to continue. It is working for people. The take-up rate has increased by 40%, year on year, as I said. Interestingly, we are also using the scheme to help people who are purchasing a home from their …