Nonsense.

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. The Deputy may have missed the Taoiseach's initial response.

Then the Deputy did not listen to it because we have made a couple of important decisions. First, we are extending the purchase of homes with a tenant in situ . We have got Government approval for another 1,500 homes. I met with all the local authorities last Thursday as well, and they are instructed to do it.

Will the Deputy let me answer the question?

Also within that, it is for social housing list, HAP and rental accommodation scheme, RAS. What we have also done today, and the Taoiseach was clear about this earlier on, as I have been, is to provide an another mechanism for private renters to help them buy the home, should it come up for sale, and a cost-rental model if they cannot buy it. The latter is a measure I discussed with the Deputy some time ago and we debated here. We said we would do it and we will roll that out. That is for people above the social---…

-----housing limits. What we are about is coming forward with solutions and that is what we have been doing. The Taoiseach outlined what was done in the last quarter of last year. There was significant delivery. I put it to the Deputy that his party, People Before Profit, PBP,-----

-----voted against every single measure the Government brought forward in relation to affordability or social housing - the Affordable Housing Act, the Land Development Agency Act 2021 and budget after budget.

That is what we are doing.

B’fhéidir nach raibh an Teachta ag éisteacht le freagra an Taoisigh roimhe sin. We have put in place clear measures. Some 5,000 new social homes were built in the past quarter, 600 new homes have been leased, and approval was given today for another 1,000 homes, which will be specifically focused on the homeless sector. Approval has also been given for 1,500 purchases with tenants in situ across the country. If more are needed in that regard, we will do more. Some 1,500 vacant social homes were returned to use in t…

Mainly in Dublin.

The former chief executive of Limerick City and County Council, Mr. Conn Murray, has done a significant amount of work in the refurbishment programme that has sat with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We have stood up a new procedure under which Mr. Michael Walsh, the chief executive of Waterford City and County Council, will be co-ordinating the refurbishment response. A new portal will be opened and we are going through all the offers that were made. In some instances peopl…

Deputy Guirke should answer that. Did his councillors get support? How much?

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett and his colleagues for bringing forward the Bill. I do not question their motives or bona fides in this matter. We have debated and discussed it. I will go through the matters in the Bill. It was clear yesterday that we are considering the legal and policy issues right now. We have not just started doing that. Any extension of the eviction ban period is complex. We have to consider the context. Since 2016, 10% of private tenancies have been lost, comprising 44,000 units in total. That is…

In contrast to the proposed Bill, the issuing of notices to quit is allowed to continue under the current winter eviction ban. This allows for a flow of tenancy terminations to continue after the relevant deferred termination date. There is no obstacle to tenants choosing to leave their tenancy during the winter months if they are in a position to re-accommodate their households. I will cover a couple of things specifically that relate to the Deputy's Bill. In general terms, it is important to note that supply is u…

The Deputy opposed the LDA legislation. He voted against it. He voted against its capitalisation-----

-----and he voted against the standing up of the agency. We have a national cost rental scheme now in place, which was underpinned by the Affordable Housing Act. The Deputy voted against the Affordable Housing Act that does not just give cost rental housing and a national cost rental scheme, which we wish to scale up even further, and we will do. We will have more cost rental tenancies this year than we had last year. It also includes things that Deputy Bríd Smith mentioned, such as the first home scheme. That is m…

I am always here.

I am always here. The Deputy only catches the tail end of debates.

The Deputy has left out one element of the scheme.

He left out the infrastructure piece.