I thank the Acting Chairman and I wish her all the best in her role. It is great to see a constituency colleague taking the Chair. I will address some of the issues raised since I took over this part of the debate. Deputies Sherlock, Whitmore and Cairns commented on specific deficits in Mitchelstown, Arklow and Kinsale. Those points are noted. Deputies Connolly and Bríd Smith raised the issue of the public ownership of Irish Water. Certainly, Irish Water is a public utility. The issue of a referendum will hopefully…

Like the Senator, I strongly believe in strong and well-funded local government, having spent 16 years of my public life as a member of a local authority. The issue he has raised is important. As he will be aware, local authorities are legally obliged to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes. Indeed, commercial rates are the single greatest source of income for local authorities, with that income supporting the provision of essential local services. When preparing their budgets for 2021, local aut…

The Senator has our commitment that we will bring forward the Local Government Rates and other Matters Act 2019, recognising the need for change. I reiterate that not all local authorities are as reliant on rates revenue as others. In Fingal, for instance, it accounts for 51%, whereas in a county such as Leitrim, it is about 16%, so there is considerable disparity. It is important that we examine alternative revenue-raising mechanisms for local government, be it public banking or a levy on out-of-town car parking, …

I thank all Deputies for their contributions. I thank Deputy Ó Broin and Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. Deputy Ó Broin continues to bring constructive ideas to the housing debate. This evening's discussion has been useful. I will start by addressing some of the points I have listened to since I took over on this side of the debate. Deputy Verona Murphy and others raised the issue of medium-density housing. We believe that in large urban areas that is simply not viable or sustainable for reasons of public transpo…

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I thank Deputy Lahart for putting the case so strongly, well and passionately. The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 introduced for a limited time new streamlined arrangements to enable planning applications for strategic housing developments of 100 housing units or more, or student accommodation or shared accommodation of 200 bed spaces or more, to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála for determination. The primary purpose of the SHD arrangements was to speed up the planning dec…

There is no doubt that the Deputy is correct in his points. He highlighted in his opening comments a lack of transparency and public engagement around SHDs, which he described as "a tantalising prospect" for development funds and a cause of inflated rents. They have undoubtedly had a distorting impact on the housing market. I take on board the point that putting a deadline into the legislation at the outset has perhaps led to a rush of applications for SHDs. However, viability in the housing sector remains a very s…

I thank Deputy Leddin for raising this matter, which I am taking of behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for transport, Deputy Naughton. First, I take this opportunity, on behalf of both the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister of State, to express our deepest sympathies to the family of Aoibheann Duffy, who was killed in a collision near Abbeydorney on Monday night. Any death on the road is a death too many but we can all agree that the loss of a young child - in this case, only 11 years of…

I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter and for the contribution he made. There are many factors involved in road safety. Vehicle standards, road conditions and, above all, road user and driver behaviour have an impact on how safe our roads are. In just over two decades we have seen a large reduction in the number of fatalities on our roads, from 472 in 1997 to a record low of 138 in 2018. This remarkable transformation was due to many actions by many people and organisations and was achieved against a bac…

I will not be accepting any of the proposed amendments. I reiterate this is a technical Bill with a very narrow focus to transfer the remaining delegated functions to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am taking on board the points the Deputies have made about designations, notification of landowners and consultation with them. That is certainly something to which this Government and I, as a Minister of State, are firmly committed. Like other Deputies here, I have met extensively with farm o…

I acknowledge that this is an issue that affects my own constituency as well as 14 other local authorities in the country. Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended. The 2011 regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in three different bands a…

As I have stated, affordability is at the heart of Government policy in the programme for Government. I also wish to confirm that the review of income thresholds has commenced. As I have outlined, no final recommendations will be made until the determination can be made on the impact of the parallel affordability initiatives. I am aware that this affects 15 local authorities in total, namely, those in counties Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Galway, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo,…

I take this opportunity to reflect on a number of the matters touched on during the debate on the Bill. I reiterate that local authorities are not obliged to enter into agreements to deliver Part V obligations through leasing. A clear preference for housing authorities is to acquire units on site in order to comply with relevant Part V conditions. Leasing to satisfy Part V elements should only be used in limited circumstances as set out in ministerial guidelines and circulars. It is clear that, to date, this has be…

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien and I met with SOS Dublin Bay last week to discuss some of these issues. We will get a response from Irish Water on that. To reassure Deputy Stanton, the investment by this Government will be significant over its lifetime and that is reflected in the 2021 allocation and the €87 million that was invested in Irish Water through the July stimulus last year. The projected capital investment in 2021 is in the region of €900 million overall, and within that Irish Water will deliver €1…

I assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke and I are committed to working with Irish Water over the lifetime of this Government to deliver this project. As I stated already, the removal of projects from the EPA remedial action list is a key priority of Irish Water. We are happy to take up the Deputy's request to meet with Irish Water on Drogheda, as that is important.

I thank Deputy Durkan for the question. The Government is absolutely committed to ensuring that affordable, quality housing solutions are available to everyone in society and this is reflected in the programme for Government. More than €3.3 billion has been made available in 2021 for housing, the largest budget in the history of the State. This year alone, we are providing capital funding of €468 million specifically to cover affordability measures. This includes €110 million for a new affordable purchase shared eq…

I agree. In terms of the effectiveness of these questions, it would be useful to have the question directed at the particular Department. We will give a response in terms of the responsibilities and the role of the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, but I acknowledge the fact that this is a question that is better directed at the Department of Justice. The RTB was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Act of 2004 to operate a national tenancy registration system and facilitate …

The Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2021 provide strong protections regarding the lawful termination of tenancies. In any notice of termination served after six months of a tenancy commencement, a landlord must state a reason for the termination in accordance with the limited allowable grounds under the legislation. The legislation also provides for specific notices periods to be served before the notice of termination becomes effective. The longer the tenancy, the longer the notice period. In some cases, these …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I thank Deputies for providing me with the opportunity to set out the provisions of the Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021. This technical Bill is necessary to allow for the transfer of functions relating to heritage under a number of enactments to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Normally, such transfers of ministerial functions are effected through orders made under the Ministers and Secretaries (Amen…

Is mór an onóir dom a bheith ag caint anseo inniu ar an mBille um Ghníomhú ar son na hAeráide agus um Fhorbairt Ísealcharbóin (Leasú). I am honoured to speak as the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill is introduced into the Dáil. It represents a pivotal moment for the nation, for us as politicians and for me on a personal level. Some weeks ago, I was going through old boxes and found election literature from the first time I campaigned for a seat on Kilkenny county and borough council, in 200…