We are talking about three months. We are doing the budget at the moment, which takes priority, but it will be as soon as possible. Politicians are mad for people to put an exact date on things, but things can happen beyond our control, especially in this Department. We have many matters to respond to every day and we are trying to negotiate a significant budget. I am not proposing to change the terms of the scheme to preclude any tenants or joint tenants from taking part in it. However, we have to be very careful …

That is why I said that the majority of cases are genuine. I was at pains to point that out.

He was never a councillor.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and Deputy Murphy for his question. As I pointed out earlier, it is key that the Land Development Agency is developing a model of housing which is social, affordable and cost-rental housing. From the applications that have been received by the LDA, actions speak louder than words. For example, the matrix for the applications in Shanganagh and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is that 34% are for social housing, 51% are for cost-rental and 15% are for affordable purchase. The work we …

From reading the programme for Government, the delivery mechanism of the Land Development Agency is very clear. It will be through mixed tenure of social, affordable and cost-rental housing. That is the mechanism that will be employed and the legislation that will come through the House will make very clear that no privatisation of the LDA will be allowed. It will be very transparent in how it does its business. There are nine sites in the agency initially, with the explicit objective of delivering 3,600 homes. As …

It is absolutely not the only way. I made that very clear when I spoke about the sites in the ownership of the LDA and cited the example of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. In Columb Barracks, in my town of Mullingar, the Land Development Agency, LDA, has taken over a site which will be the mechanism to deliver social and affordable housing to the town at an increased level. It is key that we deliver that through the State agency to ensure that mixed tenancies are delivered for people through social and affor…

I have given a very clear example in terms of the planning application that was submitted for Wicklow. I gave another clear example in my town.

We have to be very clear. The Deputy can try to shout people down but the key point I am making-----

I have given a clear example where 597 homes will be delivered in that matrix by the Land Development Agency, and it will continue to do such good work.

I thank Deputy Murphy for her question. The Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, was established as an independent statutory body under the Residential Tenancies Acts 2004 to 2020 to operate a national tenancy registration system and to facilitate the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants. The service provided by the RTB is quasi-judicial and all of their mediators, adjudicators and tribunal members have independent decision-making powers, in the same way as judges have within the court system. To ensur…

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline today the importance of Government funding of local authorities, with a particular focus on the spend of Galway City Council and Galway County Council, and also to reflect on the serious impact Covid-19 is having on local authorities' expenditure and on their cash flow. The funding system that applies to local authorities is a complex one, as authorities derive their income from a variety of sources including commercial rates, charges for goods and service…

I want to put to bed the rumour that the Government is not coming up with and delivering income streams for local authorities. The revised Estimate for the sector was approved today by the committee in connection with a €600 million fund for the rates waiver scheme. The Government is monitoring this closely. We are very clear that the local authority sector has achieved so much over the last number of years and indeed through Covid-19 in the way it rolled out the community call in a few days, for example. Local aut…

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his very important Topical Issue matter. St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest medieval church in Ireland. It has been recorded by my Department's national inventory of architectural heritage and rated of national significance. It is included on the Dublin City Council record of protected structures. Although substantially restored in the mid-19th century the cathedral still retains a significant amount of medieval fabric, including medieval roof timbers. I am aware that the public he…

St. Patrick's Cathedral is one of Ireland's most important historic structures, still operating as per its original purpose 800 years after its construction. The cathedral normally welcomes in excess of 600,000 visitors annually and is of strategic importance to the surrounding businesses. The major roof conservation project currently under way at the cathedral provides employment to many skilled Irish crafts people. As I indicated earlier, my Department has already provided substantial grant assistance to St. Patr…

I thank Deputies O'Callaghan and Ward for raising this very important matter. I appreciate that both Deputies have considerable concerns relating to the demolition of The O'Rahilly's house at 40 Herbert Park, Dublin 4. I understand that permission for such works was granted by An Bord Pleanála on 8 September 2020. The Deputies should be aware that under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, Ministers and Ministers of State are specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in…

I thank both Deputies for their responses. As I indicated earlier, it is inappropriate for me, as the Minister of State with responsibility for planning matters, to become involved in or to make any comment on this matter as the law simply precludes me from doing so. The planning authorities and the board are independent statutory bodies under the provisions of the planning Act and, as stated previously, are independent in the performance of their functions. The development works in question are a matter for the pl…

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. We all meet people in our clinics with genuine concerns and the most vulnerable people we see are those affected by the issues raised here tonight. It is important that we respond in the most genuine fashion in trying to ensure we protect the most vulnerable. We all know that rents are unaffordable, that we need a sustainable rental market and that people want to own their own homes. We are also aware that there has been a major response to the problems in the housi…

I am grateful to the Leas-Chathaoirleach and to all Senators for facilitating the urgent passage of this very important legislation through Seanad Éireann today. I accept that the time allowed for debate is necessarily short. The Government is keen to deliver for renters today. The programme for Government recognises the important role that the private rental sector plays in housing many people and we want the sector to continue to play this key role into the future. Through this Bill, the Government seeks to addre…

I thank all of the Senators for their comments. I listened to them all intently and have taken notes on each one. I appreciate the genuine comments because we need to assess all sectors of society we represent and ensure we are as informed as possible as we legislate. Senator Fitzpatrick made the case for getting more houses for local authorities and meeting the targets. Obviously, this is very important. Last year, there were 25,000 and, up to the end of March last, there were 10,000 social housing units through b…

I take the Senator's point on the building of homes. We must have a blend of measures, including getting back to home building in local authorities. It is what we are trying to do and there is a renewed emphasis and strength in that with the programme for Government, which is very important. The Senator also mentioned the right to housing and related significant matters, and we must respond to those. The programme for Government takes a view on them. Action on the ground, such as putting infrastructure and houses i…