Deputy Murphy had an opportunity to make his comments. I am responding to him. He is determining the outcome of the review. I am saying that a review is under way and that proposals will be brought to the Minister in the second half of this year. There are varying discrepancies between some local authorities. I am not determining what the outcome will be. Some local authorities have a higher percentage and some have a lower one. I am not going to determine what the outcome of the review will be until it has been un…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 154, 156, 169, 191, 198, 207 and 255 together. Tackling vacancy and dereliction is a key objective of this Government as reflected in the new housing plan, delivering homes and building communities. The vacant property refurbishment grant, which is funded under the croí cónaithe towns fund, provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties for the occupation as a principal private residence and for properties which will be made available for rent. A top-up…

From a Department perspective we are monitoring processing times by local authorities. There is a significant discrepancy between the lowest and highest. I have outlined that the average processing time is eight weeks but I acknowledge that some local authorities are significantly above that. We are working with them to ensure we can get that down to the average. I understand the complexities and difficulties associated with projects like this from a financing perspective, trying to line up contractors and difficul…

Every local authority is engaging with the scheme and has paid out grants but, as I said, processing times at both the front end and back end of the process vary from local authority to local authority. That is a challenge. We are working with local authorities to ensure all of them come within a much shorter range than is the case at the moment. We will continue to work with the local authority sector from a financing perspective in terms of the staffing required, and every local authority has a vacant homes offic…

Respect the Standing Orders.

No.

It is not being opposed on First Stage.

No.

I thank Deputy Ellis for tabling this Topical Issue matter. The Housing Act 1966 provides for the charging of rent by local authorities on social housing tenancies. Rents are based on household income levels, with those on lower incomes paying lower rents and those on higher incomes paying higher rents. This system is known as the differential rents system. It is a critical piece of the State's welfare apparatus, subsidising housing costs and supporting households who cannot meet their long-term accommodation needs…

I do not agree with the Deputy's hypothesis. He knows well that under residential tenancy legislation, any existing tenant is unaffected by the changes that were passed by this Oireachtas-----

Sorry, but I did not interrupt the Deputy.

If the Deputy will allow me to respond, he gave an example of a tenant with two or three years of a contract. That does not exist. Part 4 tenancies are created after six months, and tenants have protections under the residential tenancies legislation. The new legislation that was passed applies to new tenancies created after 1 March. On the Deputy’s broader point in respect of the rent scheme, which I commented on in my initial contribution, it is a matter for each of our 31 local authorities to set their different…

The Deputy has a job to do to represent his constituents when he comes in this Chamber. No one will ever challenge him on that, least of all me. The response I have here paints a somewhat different picture from that painted by the Deputy. It is important that I reflect it on the record of the House, but I am happy to engage further in my follow-up reply. The works in the Clontarf area commenced on 16 February and relate to a new €25 million strategic water pipeline that will significantly improve resilience, connec…

I will take his request back to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and I am sure Deputy Heneghan will speak to him in the context of the Deputy's request. As the Deputy will appreciate, any works of this nature are very significant and will be disruptive. Obviously, only management and mitigation measures can be put in place. That will change depending on the circumstances that exist at any given time, given the nature of works at any given time. The communications, as outlined in my initial response, are there in terms …

Absolutely.

Object, object, object. Object all the time.

The Deputy does not like the truth.

I thank the Deputy for his comments. He will know I moved on the agricultural exemptions prior to Christmas. The next phase is domestic exemptions, which will include modular to the rear. We are finalising those. It does not require legislation. It is regulation and has to go before the Oireachtas joint committee, which I expect to be able to do after Easter. We will get there as soon as we can. After domestic, it will be infrastructure. We are progressing that work. I thank everybody for-----

That is the aim.

I reassert the Government's commitment and determination to tackle the challenges that exist in our housing sector. We understand the need to ensure that sufficient numbers of homes are delivered, be they social, affordable or private, and that is why we are working tirelessly to address the blockages that exist and to implement policies that make a positive difference to supply. While there is still much to do, the motion initiated this evening by Sinn Féin Deputies does not fairly represent the efforts and progre…