I thank Deputy Tully. This may be an issue arising specifically with her community healthcare organisation region within the HSE. I am not familiar with the details of it. I know that the HSE contract is being looked at. If Deputy Tully wants to send the details to me I will get them to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. The HSE is responsible for its own procurement in that regard. The Deputy says there are issues with service provision, in particular of wheelchairs. A wait of eight to nine months for wheelcha…

I thank Deputy Troy for his comments and his question, and indeed his support for the delivery of Government housing policy. First, in relation to An Bord Pleanála, we now have 15 board members in place. It was as low as five last year. That is the highest number of board members that we have ever had. That was permitted in the legislation that we brought forward late last year. The consolidated planning and development Bill, which is the reform of the planning system that would bring in those statutory timelines, …

There is no question that we need to do more work with the board and our planning system.

Rather than fleecing families, we have done the exact opposite. Aontú opposed the budget of €12 billion in cost-of-living measures, equivalent to 4.5% of our national income. That is what this Government introduced to help working families right the way through. That fact is indisputable. We did reduce the excise on petrol and diesel by 21 cent and 16 cent per litre, respectively. As Deputy Tóibín is aware, at that time, both were heading beyond €2 per litre at the pumps. Today, the national average is €1.57 per li…

Thankfully, because we have an economy with near full employment-----

-----and surpluses in the Exchequer, we will continue to help families. We will look at those families and individuals who need it in advance of the budget.

We will continue to roll out the payments.

I visited Youghal with the Deputy slightly more than a month ago. We had a good visit. We met many people from the business community, community groups and residents of Youghal. I know Youghal has taken more than its fair share of newcomers and has been a very welcoming town to people, especially those who have fled the terrible war in Ukraine. It has had an impact, especially on accommodation in the town. I will speak directly to the Minister for Education about the Deputy's specific request for educational suppor…

Let Deputy Barry in.

I thank Deputy Cian O'Callaghan for affording me the opportunity to have a debate on homeownership. I have heard some comment that the motion is constructive, although it lacks policy and lacks any type of suggestion as to what to do, with the exception of supporting an Ó Cualann-type model, which we do support. The delivery of Ó Cualann is supported through the State’s affordable housing fund, which was brought forward in the Affordable Housing Act, which the Social Democrats opposed and voted against in the Dáil.…

Deputy Shortall can make whatever excuse she wants for objecting to homes but the record is there.

The record is there. Then we look at how we can activate idle State lands. The Land Development Agency, LDA, has been in place for a number of years. I legislated for it and I capitalised it. The agency has delivered its first homes. It has broken ground and is building in Shanganagh, on the largest social and affordable housing site in the county. The agency is capitalised to the tune of €1.5 billion and it will do a lot more through Project Tosaigh. I will be making further announcements soon about unpausing paus…

I do know and I know how many Deputy Shortall objected to as well.

It would make a big difference if we had Oscar Traynor, would it not?

I thank my colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, for leading out on this important debate and these important statements in the House. I agree with every word he has uttered and I am grateful for the opportunity to outline the role of my Department and the local government sector, which plays an important role and which I work with on a daily basis in the provision of accommodation and associated supports for our friends from Ukraine, the beneficiaries of temporary protection, and applicants for international p…

This is strange.

I thank the Deputy for his question. Housing for All sets out the range of actions necessary to increase housing supply to the required average of 33,000 homes per annum over the next decade. This includes 54,000 affordable home interventions. They will be delivered between now and 2030. They will be facilitated through local authorities, approved housing bodies, AHBs, the Land Development Agency and strategic partnerships between the State and retail banks. In Housing for All, we targeted affordable purchase and c…

It is interesting the Deputy likes to dismiss the first home scheme, which, by the way, has had an excellent start. We have issued more eligibility certificates and approved more people to buy their homes in the first three months of this year than we did in the last six months of last year. It is a real way that people, many of whom are renting, bridge the gap between the finance that they have and what they need. It is working well. I am conscious Deputy Ó Broin would scrap that as well, as he would scrap the hel…

-----which is people's own tax back. Thirty-seven thousand households have used that to attain it. In relation to delivery streams, I have been clear on this. Our overall target for this year is 5,550. In relation to affordable housing, we have a number of streams, including Project Tosaigh and Croí Cónaithe cities, on which, by the way, I intend to make announcements next month. There is no difficulty in providing the Deputy with the detail of the different streams. On the local authority affordable purchase, for …

Yes, this year. There are challenges within that, as with the overall target. In social housing last year, we were able to deliver 10,253 new social homes - the highest amount since 1975.