On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. The Garda Commissioner is responsible by law for the management and administration of Garda business, including the distribution of members of the Garda throughout the State. The Minister for Justice has no role in these independent functions. The determination of the need for the development of a new Garda station in Meath or at any other location will be considered by the Commissioner in the context of the overall accomm…

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, I again thank both Deputies for raising this matter. It is vitally important and they have brought forward very serious crime issues in the area that we need to tackle. I assure them that community safety is a priority for the Government and An Garda Síochána, as evidenced by the Government's unprecedented Garda provision for 2021. In tandem with this year's record Garda budget, the Department's justice plan for 2021 includes a range of commitments focused on actively supporti…

I thank Deputies Ó Cuív, O'Reilly and Connolly for raising this important issue and giving me an opportunity to address it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. Following public health guidance, Government policy is to have a gradual reopening of the hospitality sector, beginning with outdoor hospitality, before a decision is taken on resuming indoor service in a few weeks. Many of our bars and restaurants have now reopened with outdoor service, which is giving people a welcome opportunity to meet safely wit…

As I said, An Garda Síochána has made clear that the overwhelming majority of owners of licensed premises have behaved responsibly and those who continue to behave responsibly in controlling their premises should have nothing to worry about. A tiny minority of pubs have been serving alcohol to those seated outside agreed areas, and clearly that will be the focus of any Garda action in the first instance. Many cities have by-laws in place. Local authorities have facilitated pubs with permissions for outdoor seating …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and allowing me the opportunity to outline the position in respect of Irish Water’s responsibility on this matter. The Water Services Acts 2007 to 2017 set out the arrangements in place for the delivery of water and waste water services by Irish Water, and for the scrutiny and oversight provisions that apply in respect of these arrangements. Since 1 January 2014, Irish Water has had statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation …

Deputy Ellis raised important points, particularly about sending out notifications and effective communication. Those points are important for Irish Water to take on board. The Water Services Acts place specific responsibilities on the Minister and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, including responsibility for matters relevant to water policy, funding and in the making of regulations. The Water Services Acts also put in place a variety of legislative and regulatory controls to ensure governa…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann, while acknowledging the relevance of the Acquisition of Development Land (Assessment of Compensation) Bill 2021 in regard to securing more cost efficient development land with the objective that all persons insofar as practicable have good quality and affordable housing appropriate to their needs, in accordance with the principles of social justice and the exigencies of the common good, resolves that the Bill be de…

I thank the Senator. In reference to the first section and amendment No. 26, section 7(5) refers to the situation where the housing authority has entered into an arrangement with an approved housing body, AHB, the Land Development Agency, LDA, or a public-private partnership, PPP, for the provision of dwellings and the amount which the housing authority has agreed to pay the contractor, AHB, etc., is greater than the amount for which the housing authority proposes the homes be sold to purchasers under the direct sa…

The Part 5 Committee Stage amendments are being drafted and will be introduced on Committee Stage in the Dáil. As such we will introduce those revisions and then return to the Seanad, and we previously confirmed this to the Seanad. That might help to move this along.

We have made provisions for the local authority to be able to provide financial assistance. That should clarify that point.

On Senator Gavan's point, which Senator Moynihan also raised, we have confirmed that homes will be made available by local authorities in a price range of €160,00 to €300,000. Using the Rebuilding Ireland home loan, this means homes are available to a much wider cohort of income groups. I will address amendment No. 37 first. Section 10 provides for regulations to be made to deal with matters of income eligibility on a general basis. I do not consider it appropriate that housing authorities adopt their own threshold…

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has had extensive discussions with the CCMA, the Oireachtas joint committee and the Housing Agency. We know of the Minister's reputation. He has been very inclusive and participative in dealing with all aspects of this matter. He continues to keep a very open mind in his consultations and engagements with all actors and agencies. That is to his credit. With regard to what Senator Gavan said, the Minister is certainly not afraid of consultation. He believes that it is a valuable…

Senator Moynihan has raised a very important issue. Certainly this is a very significant challenge. As Senator Higgins also said, our family units are changing, the nature of family has changed dramatically over the past 20 years in Ireland and there are many single people, couples who are separated and divorced etc. That is reflected in what local authorities are trying to achieve in designing schemes and they have that discretion in terms of designing their own schemes as well to ensure they try to prioritise one…

Amendment No. 42 seeks to remove a reference to the provision of financial assistance for open market dwellings from section 11(5). As stated under previous amendments, I wish to retain these provisions in the Bill. Amendment No. 43 seeks to delete "comply with" and substitute "have regard to" in reference to directions issued by the Minister to housing authorities on schemes of priority under section 11. It is usual to provide that any direction issued by a Minister is complied with, where such a power is given to…

On conditionality and Part 5, amendments will be brought forward on Committee Stage in the Dáil. Amendment No. 44 seeks to insert a new provision to provide that where a dwelling is being made available for affordable purchase under a Part 5 agreement, there will be no obligation on a housing authority to provide any financial contribution above an agreed affordable threshold. Under the Bill’s provisions, the affordable dwelling contribution is essentially the discount from market value. The percentage that discoun…

I will take the questions backwards. On Senator Fitzpatrick's point, it is the case that applicants will be supported to the value of the equity they require. On Senator Paddy Burke's question, on who decides on the equity stake, the local authority sets the prices. It would make decisions on a case-by-case basis. The local property tax is the household's responsibility. I note the request of Senators Higgins and Moynihan to have clarity in the language. We can certainly double-check and revert to the Senators if t…

I do not propose to accept this amendment. A "long stop date", anticipated to be between 25 and 30 years, will be prescribed before which the housing authority could not seek to realise the affordable dwelling equity other than for breach of specific terms of the agreement. At the end of the period the charge could become enforceable if the affordable dwelling contribution - the State’s equity share - is not bought out by the household. However, this will be at the discretion of the housing authority. It is envisag…

I do not propose to accept this amendment, which is required to ensure that the State and taxpayer equity interest is protected and that any necessary items relating to such matters as insurance and building regulations are addressed. As the provisions state, however, the approval of the housing authority to consent to structural alterations cannot be unreasonably withheld. To substantiate our position here, I point out that the provisions in Part 6 are designed to address a perceived shortcoming in the 2009 Act an…

The term "which shall not be unreasonably withheld" covers that. It is not the intent to prevent homeowners building extensions. The intention is to ensure that all building regulations are in place and that there is compliance. If anything, that will protect the homeowner to get a better project from the extension. The Senator raised the question of delays that could ensue from that but I do not think it would be unreasonable to expect that. It is a reasonable expectation.

These amendments appear to be consequential on amendment No. 49 which attempts to change the affordable dwelling equity from a percentage to a fixed amount. In that regard, I do not propose to accept the amendments.