As I said, to deliver houses people cannot be objecting to building them so the Deputy may have a look at his policy in this regard.

I hear the Deputy quoting selectively about a decade ago as to why these houses were not built in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

What he fails to note is we were under an IMF programme. The State was spending 50% more than it was taking in income. We were locked out of the markets. Any borrowing was as high as 14%. Two local authorities in Dublin and the local authority in Westmeath were piloting the mortgage-to-rent scheme because we were saturated with debt in our local authorities. The Deputy ignores all of this when he speaks about the period 2009 to 2012, inclusive. This is one of the core underscores of the crisis. The State did not ha…

I will not accept that from a party which objects-----

-----day after day and week after week. We have a record budget. We are in the business of building houses for all of our citizens. We will do this and we will deliver on it.

I thank the Deputies for raising these issues and bringing forward the Bill. I can confirm that the Government has agreed not to oppose the Bill. As the Deputies are aware, the programme for Government sets out a commitment to hold a referendum on housing. We have supported this debate and are keen to hear opinions, as we have been, on this important issue. I thank those Deputies who have already contributed to the debate and I will listen to further contributions with interest. It is important that the Government …

I thank all of the speakers who contributed to this debate. In my opening remarks I set out clearly the direction of travel for the Government and outlined how seriously we are taking this. An interim chairperson has been appointed. I have made it clear what we are doing in that regard. The Constitution affects us all and we must balance any proposal with other rights in our Constitution and protect against any unintended consequences, being mindful of the interdependencies between different rights. That is why we …

I thank the Senators for their important contributions as we move through our Affordable Housing Bill. Amendment No. 19 seeks to add a condition to section 7, that a housing authority may only enter into an agreement for the sale of affordable dwellings "where the dwellings specified in the agreement meet such criteria of affordability", and to include a criteria that any such dwellings should be affordable to individuals on or below the national median income, "as may be set out in regulations developed by the Min…

The Minister will be setting the method of assessment in terms of the eligibility criteria through regulations which will come before the House, as I outlined last Friday. These can be extinguished by the House within 21 days.

I thank each of the Senators for raising the various issues they have put forward. I look forward to engaging with everyone today. I do not propose to accept this amendment because it would require all regulations to be the subject of positive approval by both Houses of the Oireachtas. The existing provision gives either House of the Oireachtas the power to pass a resolution annulling any regulations made under this legislation within 21 days of the regulation being laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas as is re…

I thank the Senators for their comments. It is not proposed to accept this amendment. It is not clear that the provisions in the amendment, as structured, including using the phrase "paramount concern" in respect of housing authorities, would have a definite legal effect. The supply of affordable housing by a local authority is influenced by a range of considerations, including identified need, as detailed in the housing needs demands assessment process, and the cost and type of provision and funding mechanisms ava…

I thank the Senators for engaging on this. I will respond to the amendments together, as outlined earlier by the Leas-Chathaoirleach. These amendments refer to and are connected with the power given to local authorities in the Bill to provide financial assistance to eligible purchasers to purchase dwellings on the open market. They propose removing that power and any reference to it from the Bill. I do not propose to accept the amendments. While the currently planned housing authority affordable dwellings scheme en…

I did not interrupt the Senator. He is obviously having trouble-----

The Senator obviously has a problem when he hears the truth. The truth of the matter is what his party is doing, which is opposing housing in the State, as this Government tries to get sites that have been lying idle for decades back into use for our citizens and for sustainable communities. We have seen many examples of sites where providing community centres, parks and key infrastructure has been blocked by his party. I am in the business of politics. I am trying my very best to deliver for all the citizens of th…

I acknowledge Senator Warfield's amendment. Without doubt it has a significant portion to play. What I would say is that capacity is the issue we are concerned about. While I do not propose to accept the amendment at the present time, I recognise that there is significant merit attached to it, what Senator Warfield and other Senators have brought to the debate, and for considering it in the inclusion of other specialist housing providers under this specific provision. Consideration will now be given to including ot…

Yes.

I thank Senators for engaging in the debate. I do not propose to accept this amendment. In respect of allowing, where appropriate, housing authorities to enter into such arrangements, including joint ventures, in order to deliver affordable housing for sale in one of the ways that might deliver housing, as I said previously and as some Members have referenced, the LDA will be a game changer in terms of delivering high-quality affordable houses to our citizens along with cost-rental options. This is quite rightly me…

I thank the Senators for a debate I genuinely value. Much good content has recurred throughout the different themes. Before I address the amendments, regarding what Senators Casey and Boyhan said about the section 183 process and the LDA, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is working hard to try to resolve that issue. As the Minister of State with responsibility for local authorities, I know the Senators are passionate about this issue. It is important that we work to ensure local authorities do not lose any pow…

I thank Senators for their contributions on this matter. They are correct on the importance of language in legislation. This is not an issue of principle but a legal issue in terms of the direction given on the Planning and Development Acts. I agree to take another look at the amendment. I propose to accept amendment No. 12, which was touched on by Senator Higgins, to show our commitment to working on this area. I genuinely have heard what Senators have said and I know language is important. I will try to resolve t…

We are accepting this amendment and I hope that reflects the broad thrust of the day. We have accepted amendments and we have given commitments to come back on others because we genuinely value the contributions made by Senators.