No, that is not true.

How many?

On the question of affordable housing, in April 2018, the Boherboy Road affordable housing project was announced. In 2019, the then Taoiseach, now Tánaiste, opened the project. It is now 2022 and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is saying that it will be launched. Is it wrong that Deputies, Ministers and the Tánaiste go and open up affordable housing projects only for them not to be started or delivered?

Yes.

Like my party colleague, I cautiously welcome this Bill. It is about time we started regulating the construction industry properly but there is still a great deal of work to be done to make the Bill fit for purpose so that it delivers what we all want to see delivered. In my city of Cork, we have a housing development on Kilmore Road in Knocknaheeny where construction stopped in early 2021 and has now resumed at a snail’s pace. The only reason for this I can get from the local authority is that there are some issue…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this debate. This is an issue I have been trying to raise for some time. Children's disability services in my constituency of Cork North-Central are in crisis. Unfortunately, my constituency is topping the chart in respect of many of the waiting lists. In November, we had the second longest waiting list for an assessment of needs in the State. In December, we had the most children waiting for speech and language therapy, with the numbers waiting for occupational therapy and …

I have no doubt that the Minister of State's comments were made sincerely. The issue in Cork now, however, is that there are 11 children's disability network teams but only one of them is fully staffed. More than 800 children are on the occupational therapy waiting list in Cork north Lee, but there is only one occupational therapist, OT, for all of them. Is it any wonder that we are having huge problems with staffing in a health service where the staff are working under these conditions? The pressure and the stress…

It should not be up to a parent to provide a service either. The Minister of State might look into that as well, please.

First, I wish the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the staff and everyone in Leinster House a happy and safe Christmas and new year. I may not have another opportunity to say that before the recess. I also want to convey my warm appreciation of all those working in the addiction sector over the past 12 months, many of whom will be working over the Christmas period trying to protect vulnerable people. The work they do every day, and have done throughout the Covid crisis, has saved countless lives. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I th…

I commend my party colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, on bringing forward this Bill, and the Simon Community on the work it has done on it. It is vital that we start tackling homelessness. It is soul-destroying for the people who are stuck in homelessness, their families and in particular, the children, who do not know where they are going to spend Christmas and where they will be in the new year. I wish to take a moment, before the Christmas break, to thank all those who work with the homeless. I thank the organisations i…

Every time I meet with Cork City Council officials, I always tell them that if there is anything they need me to raise or support in the Dáil, I will do so. Noonan Road is one such issue. The apartments on Noonan Road and houses in surrounding areas are in significant need of regeneration and retrofitting. There was a Department announcement two years ago that this was going to happen and tenants and residents were delighted. We are now going into 2022 and there is no retrofitting taking place. Some of these apartm…

I am looking at the Minister of State's script. In the last paragraph on the first page it is stated that between 2013 and 2020, Cork City Council received €21 million in respect of retrofitting works for 7,000 units. Did the council change light bulbs or what? A figure of €21 million to retrofit 7,000 units does not add up at all. I ask that be clarified. Cork City Council has 10,500 social housing units and the Minister of State indicated that 7,000 of these were retrofitted over a seven-year period. That means 1…

My father lives there. It was a success.

What is the Minister of State's plan to entice businesses into Cork city centre given the recent closure of a number of businesses there?

Do I get a chance to respond?

Blackpool and Mayfield are communities in my constituency, Cork North-Central, that are in dire need of regeneration. I have asked that both communities be included in a regeneration plan. Cork City Council has applied for funding under the regeneration development fund but the application has been rejected. These are great communities that need support. The community I come from, Knocknaheeny, is part of a regeneration plan, and I ask that Mayfield and Blackpool be included. I invite the Tánaiste, the next time he…

Deputies are trying to be constructive. We are talking about real people and families. We are coming up to Christmas and there are people renting homes who live in fear that their landlord will put up the rent. Last week, I was contacted by a constituent who is paying €1,200 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. She got a notice that the rent was increasing to €1,243. I raised this with the Minister or Minister of State last week. This lady, a student nurse, is going to college and has to make a decision now. She is…

I support this amendment. To solve any problem, you need data to analyse it and to identify the solutions. As stated by Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, we all need to work together. These are real people we are talking about and they are depending on us to deliver a solution. We are putting forward amendments that we believe will be a positive in regard to this Bill. Numerous Bills have been brought forward in regard to the resolution of the housing crisis. This Bill is another such measure. I spoke to a landlord over th…

This is a very sensible amendment. We did not think we would need to table something like this because when we discussed this after the USI and everyone came together, the Minister of State accepted the points that were made. Allowing someone to look for payment upfront goes against the whole concept of paying one month's rent in advance and then paying the rent every month. It is fairly straightforward. We need to protect students, especially at this time. Student accommodation is so hard to get that parents of st…

I will speak to amendment No. 22. There is talk about tenancies of indefinite duration, which we all welcome, but this Bill does not deliver that. We have to be honest with people. There are renters out there tonight who are looking to the Minister for hope, security and protection, and this Bill does not deliver that. Our amendment will help to protect renters. The excuses of use by a family member or that the property is being sold are used the majority of the time. As Deputy Ó Broin said, more than 75% of the ti…