They could be in here and Senator Fitzpatrick is taking away from their time.

Senator Boyhan has six minutes.

I welcome the Minister. I fully agree with what Senator Byrne said. The Minister met with my colleagues in Wicklow and they asked if he could do anything to give them powers to extend the county development plan process. This is about restoring powers to our local authority members. I hope they use them. I will come back to the two-thirds majority required for decisions under the legislation. We might need to look at that. The core principle here is about consulting with communities and the public, explaining to th…

I fully support this measure to deliver home ownership. It is one of a number of such measures. We should put it in that context, that it is a short-term measure to provide an option for people to buy their own home. It is limited to €75 million, which is less than 1% of an €11 billion mortgage market. The words "could lead" and "can lead" have been used, which are not definitive. To say that something which equates to less than 1% of the market will have a significant impact on inflation of house prices is a stret…

I spoke about the vacant site levy on Committee Stage. I spoke about how it is critical that we have a functioning and proper vacant site levy or a similar mechanism. I think everybody in the House will agree that what is in place at the moment clearly is not working. Senator Mullen has identified the various differences across counties in how it is applied and other issues. However, a mechanism similar to a vacant site levy or something to replace it is required. However, there is no point in having it if it is no…

I plan to reopen my own business on Wednesday. That reopening would not be possible without the Government supports that have been provided over the past 15 months. I wish to acknowledge that before I raise a similar issue to that of Senator Keogan. I am in the privileged position to be able to allow indoor dining in my hotel from Wednesday. However, the locals - who are my regulars - who want to dine in the hotel have to sit outside. I find that two-tier approach most unfair. Why should locals coming to the hotel …

I welcome the Minister for Health to the House for the second time today. He has ten minutes.

In order to get all speakers in because time is tight, is it agreed that we reduce speaking time from five minutes to four minutes? Agreed.

I thank the Minister for his commitment to the House today. It is great to see on both sides of the House some Members boasting that they have received the vaccination and others boasting that they are too young to get it. That is good.

Senator Fitzpatrick has covered most of my points. Taking a segment of housing out of affordability will add to the crisis. Every one of us who has been on a local authority knows that local authorities are buying social houses on the open market every year and families are living in such houses. Every year, each local authority is given funding to go out and buy houses for social housing. This is doing the same. It is taking houses on the private market and making them available for affordable housing. It is anoth…

I will be brief. I agree with much of what Senator Higgins has said. As we try to take more control of the housing market as a State, open market dwellings represent a source of affordable homes for people and they should not be excluded. Would those tabling this amendment to exclude this source of homes equally agree to it being applied to the social homes that the councils are currently buying for families? It is the very same principle. I would hope that the very same principles that the local authorities follow…

Hear, hear.

It is not.

I would support this amendment and I will be consistent on this. I would support any vehicle that can provide access to affordable homes for people. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply to this and I hope we will be able to accept the amendment or a rewritten amendment along these lines. At the end of the day, it is about accessing affordable homes for families to live in. Whatever vehicle we need to provide this, let us use it.

Senator Warfield will not be surprised I will not be supporting this amendment either. However, I want to give another reason I will not be supporting it from those already given. Having sat on a local authority for more than 12 years, frustrated by the lack of flexibility we had in delivering both social and affordable homes, to be given a credible option to deliver that as a Member and to consider we would not vote in favour of that, is running down the local authority system. It is also running down the powers o…

While one might have an objection in principle to the LDA, what is being proposed in this amendment is not acceptable. Going back to my original point, these provisions give local authority members an option to deliver affordable housing. Every scheme will have to be approved by local authority members, in agreement with the LDA, including provision to deliver affordable homes or whatever the mix is for a particular schemes. With this amendment, Senator Warfield is saying he has no trust in local authority members …

Again, we are dealing primarily with the local authority entering into agreements with different vehicles for the delivery of affordable homes. Amendment No. 6 removes the option of a local authority entering a public private partnership arrangement. In my county of Wicklow, in the areas where the housing crisis is at a maximum, there is no public land. If local authorities are to build social or affordable homes their only option is to reach out to the private sector, and I regret this because it is not my preferr…

Returning to the topic of public land, I come from the perspective that we should use 100% of public land for public housing. I think everyone in this House agrees that the majority of our councillors also believe that public land should be used for public housing. It is ultimately their decision to propose development schemes. There is an element, therefore, of us putting our trust in that process. In addition, a measure at national level cannot always work its way down to the local level. Even in Wicklow, the dyn…

I support the amendment. The thrust of what everybody has said so far is right. It is fine for us to talk about everything in this House but when we pass this legislation, it will be about delivery. To get real and honest delivery, we need to set ourselves targets. One way we can deliver housing is through local authorities because, to a certain extent, as public representatives, we control that space. We are a little removed from the Land Development Agency and do not have the same influence over it. The same appl…

As there is a lack of infrastructure where we can build homes and local authorities, in dezoning land we have increased land prices overnight. That will haunt us down the road unless this serious issue is addressed. All we are asking is that we build homes where we have tier 1 infrastructure, including water, sewerage and public transport, but we are told "No". Three towns in my county have already exceeded their 2031 targets and are being told they cannot build any more homes, even though all the infrastructure is…