A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

We will absolutely continue to look at that. The work being done through the Housing Agency is very important in helping homeowners, first, apply to the scheme and, second, make sure the scheme works for them. When I inherited the scheme, it was a 90-10 model, with a grant amount of €247,000. It has been changed completely and we are seeing homeowners engage with it. Are there still concerns? Absolutely. Am I committed to working through those concerns? Yes, I am. I work through the concerns on a daily basis with t…

You opposed it, Pearse.

That is not true.

Unquestionably, the Croí Cónaithe grant scheme is working extremely well. The Deputy would also know that, because it is Exchequer funding, there have to be checks and balances on the payments of grants. I know Sinn Féin might play fast and loose with money from time to time but, in fairness, it is Exchequer funding and we have to be careful with it. The scheme has taken hold. I know it is a grave disappointment to the Deputy. Just go and meet the householders who have benefited from this and the many thousands mor…

The Deputy has rightly mentioned there are two reports on this. There is the majority report and the minority report, both of which have to be considered together. I welcome that. It shows that the commission has done good work and there are different views on it. It is complex. We have seen with regard to Bunreacht na hÉireann that one must be extremely careful and respectful of any proposed changes to it. The deliberations on this will not be rushed and indeed have not been. The next step is that I will be bringi…

No. I will do that when I come back in.

I will come back to Deputy Wynne on it.

I have the majority report and the minority report on the proposals on how housing would be reflected in the Constitution. I do not have the overall Housing Commission report. It will come in time. It is about the future of housing in Ireland. While we are doing this, as we have said in answer to questions previously, it is important that we continue to increase our housing supply, including affordable, social, private and across cost rental. We are doing this but challenges still remain. For the record of the Hous…

I thank the Deputy. We developed the cost rental tenant in situ scheme for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because the landlord intends to sell. This was an add-on to the tenant in situ scheme which I mentioned earlier. There were more than 1,800 purchases last year and we will continue that scheme into this year. We will continue the cost rental tenant in situ scheme into this year. I did not see it as being the main deliverer for many people there, but we are also using the first-h…

I completely and utterly reject what the Deputy has just said. It is a measure and an option that is available. Every tenant in the country has been written to through the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, with the options available. The scheme operates on an administrative basis and nothing will stop with regard to applications. I have already said to the Deputy that it must be underpinned by legislation but that will not stop applications or the operation of the scheme. The cost rental tenant in situ scheme is an…

The Deputy can have a chat with his colleagues who are sitting behind him.

As the Deputy will be aware, supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key priority for me and the Government. Critical to supporting households to exit homelessness is increasing supply. Thankfully, we are seeing supply increase substantially. At the end of quarter 1, we will have our social housing and affordable numbers for 2023 which I predict will show an increase on the previous year. Record State investment of more than €5 billion has been made available this year to support the largest St…

Supply, I think everyone agrees, is key. If one looks at where we have come from when this Government came into office and since Housing for All, we have exceeded our overall housing delivery targets, not only on social housing but across the board. We need to do that. We need to ensure that we have a stable private rental sector as well. There are many reasons people fall into homelessness. I work directly with the Simon Communities. I, myself, chair the national homeless action committee and I deal with all the s…

It is correct.

I ask Deputy Ó Broin to not interrupt me and let me answer the question. The Deputy can come back in. That is correct. Effectively, what one needs is different supports for different people. We have new arrivals. We have people coming into homelessness due to family break-up, not only through the private rental sector. I note, by the way, that the Deputy had a motion that he had tabled as a matter of urgency in relation to supports that we brought in to ensure that we were supporting and ensuring that good landlord…

First, Deputy Ó Broin is absolutely incorrect about social housing entitlements but that never gets in the way of him making any remarks in here.

Stop interrupting, Eoin. I have just started. Let me answer.

It is the second time he has done it. I am just saying.

Sorry.