Those people tell the truth, Tánaiste - not like you.

Even the Ceann Comhairle is confused by this Government.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has done it again. Once more, he promised one thing very loudly, brashly and publicly, but unfortunately delivered something very different. He promised he would increase the provision in Part V of the Planning and Development Act to ensure all new housing developments would deliver not only the 10% social housing that is currently required to be provided under law, but also another 10% for much needed affordable housing, be th…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, for his response. First, I find it hard to believe that the reason that the Government is not opposing this Bill is because it hopes to see it receiving pre-legislative scrutiny in a committee. There is a long list of Opposition Bills that have passed Second Stage in the previous Dáil and in this Dáil and Government Members so far, despite repeated requests by Opposition Members, have yet to table any of that legislation for pre-legislative scrutiny. I am hoping th…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 to delete the sunset clause which affords an exemption to developers who secure planning permission before 2026 to provide 20 per cent of the relevant land or houses for social and affordable housing. I can assure the Leas-Cheann Comhairle the original Title of the Bill was much shorter but apparently it was not legally correct, which is why it is more of a mouthful. Rising house prices have been a featu…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

With the same indulgence the Leas-Cheann Comhairle gave the Minister, I will say two things very briefly. On 24 June last-----

Absolutely. This is a clarification of the Minister's clarification because he has not clarified anything, so let us deal with that. On 24 June last year, the Minister said to the House-----

I am not entering a debate but I would have made my clarification by now if the Leas-Cheann Comhairle had allowed me the same latitude she gave the Minister. That is all I am asking for. On 24 June last year, the Minister said that the "shared equity scheme is focused on those who need it most. It will work. It has been passed by the Central Bank, has received approval...". That was what the Minister told the House last June. We knew that was not the case because we wrote to the Central Bank, which stated it was no…

To stop all this coastal fighting, we might have to locate it in Offaly.

That is climate justice.

That is absolutely untrue. That is dishonest.

The Deputy should at least take himself seriously.

I commend my colleague, Deputy Mairéad Farrell, on both bringing forward the motion and her work with Deputy Clarke on the related legislation. I want to broaden out the debate a little to some direct experiences I have had with FOI that really show why the public and very specific groups of people absolutely have the right to know. These are reflections on my experience struggling to get responses to FOI requests, some of which I am still battling several years on. As Members of the House will know, in Millford Ma…

I wish to state at the outset, no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, that it is deeply disappointing, given the seriousness of the issue that I am raising, that neither the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage nor the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is available for this discussion. I am aware that the Land Development Agency legislation is currently before the Seanad, but both the Minister and the Minister of State are not required for that. I would like to convey my dissatisfac…

As the Ceann Comhairle will hear very often during the Topical Issue Debate, this is wholly inadequate. Again, I do not in any way blame the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, but for the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, or the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Noonan, not to be here to answer questions on this issue is not only disrespectful to members of the Opposition but also to the thousands of homeowners who will sleep tonight in defective homes. This is the last opportuni…

I will speak in favour of both amendments in the group. When the Oireachtas housing committee undertook pre-legislative scrutiny of this legislation, one of the recommendations unanimously agreed by all members of the committee, both from the Government and the Opposition, was that the many regulations the Minister will have to produce, both for the affordable purchase and cost rental schemes, should be published in parallel with the legislation. This was so we could have a fully informed debate about the details o…

If this were comprehensive legislation, we would know, for example, what would be the eligibility criteria for accessing affordable purchase or cost rental schemes. If it were comprehensive legislation, we would know the cost or the way in which the cost of those homes would be provided. Nobody is asking the Minister to delay anything. In fact, this legislation has been three years in gestation over two Governments. Many of us, including myself throughout the last Oireachtas, tried to get this legislation introduce…

I strongly support the Green Party amendments. I tabled similar amendments to the Land Development Agency Bill to promote the idea of community housing trusts. Unfortunately, we do not have a legislative basis for such innovative forms of housing development. They work well in continental Europe, especially in countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. It would be a positive addition to have that kind of opportunity in which people, particularly those who bring their skills to self-organised architectu…

I will speak to amendment No. 24 in this group on the subject of public-private partnerships. Public-private partnerships are quite a new model for developing social housing in a context here. The first bundle, as the Minister knows, was completed earlier this year, with 109 of the first 500 in my constituency. They were tenanted recently. The difficulty with the public-private partnership model is in the detail, and I want to briefly outline the reason it is not the right model to deliver homes. There is an exerci…