This is the third week in a row in which I have raised questions on the metro project. I have addressed them to the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach and now the Department of Transport. The reason I have done that is there was significant concern in my community and many others in north Dublin about what was being reported as a strategic delay by Government in the metro project. Yesterday, we saw in clear terms that not only is the Government committed to the metro project but it is committed to increased funding for it, bu…

I concur with my colleague on the need for a Nitelink service in Dublin from 22 October. I wish all of those engaged in the hospitality industry well on what will be a significant date. I appreciate the Minister of State's answer. She is essentially saying that we are at the first stage of progressing the railway order. A great deal of informal public consultation has already taken place. The communities are ready for this to start. The national development plan refers to the Finglas Luas project, which looks like …

Or twist his arm maybe.

I imagine the housing subcommittee will have an opportunity to examine the some 20 public housing sites in Ballymun that will avail of Housing for All finally to deliver public housing on public land for people who want to rent affordably or purchase or otherwise avail of social housing. Key to housing is infrastructure and, unfortunately, there has been significant doubt around the metro project in recent weeks. Last week, I asked the Tánaiste whether the Government had made a decision strategically to delay the p…

I have six minutes. I was working it out because, like the Taoiseach, I did not do honours maths. This is a very important document for the Minister, for those Deputies who support the Government and for the thousands of people who want this housing crisis to end. Something substantial happened in February 2020. We were told through the democratic mandate that things needed to change on housing. That is why we all had the responsibility to try to put together a Government that did that. Some people led that job of …

Let me look at what Housing for All does. I will not talk to the Opposition but to the members of the public who want this problem solved. What does Housing for All do? First, if you do not qualify for social housing at the moment, Housing for All has solutions for you. If you do not qualify for social housing, you will now qualify for cost rental. If there are empty public sites beside you, in Dublin, Cork and other places where affordability is an issue, 100% of those will be used for public housing on public lan…

I welcome the Deputies bringing this Bill forward. We were fortuitous in it being drawn from the lottery. We have been talking about this issue for some time. There is a broad understanding of this in the House, both from the Deputies who have spoken but also on the part of Deputy Lahart, who brought forward an earlier Bill which has now gone to the next Stage, and Deputies Chambers and Haughey. What we want now is action. I welcome what the Minister of State said, because it outlines the action the Government is g…

Sinn Féin had other options.

We are getting on with fixing the problems.

I am going to put the Tánaiste in a difficult position by asking him to comment on or dismiss unconfirmed reports about a Government plan that has not yet been announced. Communities across north Dublin are concerned about reports that MetroLink may be delayed. I do not have to convince the Tánaiste of the benefits of MetroLink. It is a project that helps our climate, our city and the communities across north Dublin. These communities have engaged with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, as late as in recent mon…

Earlier this week, I attended a meeting of school principals and a family resource centre about how open drug dealing is impacting the services they provide in the community. We all saw the "Prime Time" programme on open drug dealing in Ballymun. My question relates to the programme for Government. When will the citizens' assembly on drug use be brought forward and will the Tánaiste and the Minister for Justice engage with the Garda Commissioner about the policing of open drug dealing hotspots in places like Fingla…

I intend to speak against the amendment. Before that, however, there is something deeply wrong with the rules of this House. We cannot accuse each other of lying but we can accuse each other of war crimes. There is something broken in the rules of the House. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle was not in the Chair when it happened but I know a lie when I hear it. There were no war crimes committed during this pandemic. I speak against the amendment because I believe that the Minister and the Government do not wish to have th…

I welcome the Minister. As Fianna Fáil spokesperson on local government, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. In 2013, I and many of my colleagues on Dublin City Council described this as the wrong tax at the wrong time. The timing was obviously very difficult for many people but the tax was a market value-based tax rather than a site value-based one. The Bill before us defines one of the real issues with the current system, namely, it will require us to constantly review the valuations. There is …

I see Deputy Matthews in the Chamber. He chairs the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. With this and the LDA Bill, he did a fantastic job in stewarding through legislation that will have an impact. I was remiss in not mentioning that during our debate on the LDA Bill. There was considerable discussion at the committee. While there were concerns and opposition to elements of the legislation, there was strong debate about where we are going in terms of housing. In the debate on the previo…

I welcome this Bill. It will effectively mean that people who are renting will pay less of an increase than they would if this Bill were not passed. Like other Deputies, I am very happy to support that. The Minister has also capped the upfront payments for new tenants at one month's rent and one month's deposit and he is working on other measures for later in the year to support renters. This says a lot about his commitment to people who are renting. The Bill we are passing today will effectively replace the curren…

We are ending the first year in government. On the housing issue, within 12 months we have unlocked public lands for 100% public housing in places where that is needed, we have a new affordable purchase scheme and a new affordable rental scheme, we have protected 50% of new estates for owner-occupiers, we have doubled the obligation on developers on private sites, we have capped rent increases, we have capped deposits and upfront rents to one month, we have supported students by limiting the notice period, we have …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus leis an Aire. I want to bring to the attention of the Minister and the House the concerns of many taxi drivers who have over the past 12 months, like many sectors of society, dealt with the fall-out of the pandemic. I acknowledge that throughout that process at different times, the Government has sought to intervene and to alleviate the hardship that many taxi drivers are experiencing. There is no doubt that the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, is the single bi…

The news that the Government will extend that until the end of 2022 is very welcome. I know there are many who would wish it would go further, but at this time the Minister's commitment in the House to that will be very welcome news to those people who are facing that cliff edge. I understand this may have to go through public consultation with the NTA and, obviously, I would encourage us to accelerate that process as much as possible. I thank the Minister for the engagement he has had with me and with the represen…

I wish to speak against this group of amendments. There is a fundamental difference between the Opposition and the Government in how we want to deliver homes and what we want the LDA to do. It is clear from Committee Stage that those in opposition want it to be a land amalgamation agency and local authorities to then construct homes on that land. The Government wants all parts of the State firing on all cylinders. Using the Affordable Housing Bill, we want to ensure that councils build social housing and housing fo…

I believe the Bill has sufficient compulsory purchase order, CPO, powers to allow the LDA to deliver the homes we have spoken about in previous phases of this discussion. As the Minister said, there is a fundamental difference here between what the Government wants to do by establishing a LDA that builds and develops homes and the Opposition, which wants to put together an agency that assembles land and then provides that land to the local authorities. We are not saying it is one or another. We are saying that both…