Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Murphy, Boyd Barrett, Stanley and Coonan for their engagement on this amendment. I acknowledge that, in the past, there were very difficult negotiations and complex court cases. I agree with Deputy Murphy that, to be fair, local authorities have been denuded of many experienced staff in recent years. In terms of addressing that, where local authorities are making proposals they can stand over, we are allocating resources to both housing and planning departments. I can report to the Deputy that over 300 additional staff have been allocated throughout the country in recent months to the very departments she mentioned.

To support the local authorities and the staff, we will be issuing strong revised Part V guidelines on negotiating agreements. Also, this Bill, in its own right, will ensure that we have closer collaboration and co-ordination between housing departments and planning departments in local authorities because from a planning point of view this Bill demands that a housing assessment is done in an area before vacant sites, for example, are designated. There has to be close co-ordination, and that is the way it should be because the Deputy and I, and anyone who has been in public life, knows that sometimes housing departments did not make good decisions in terms of where they built houses. They did not look at sustainable planning, and we did not have that close co-operation that was needed. This Bill in itself will ensure that we have closer collaboration. I put the challenge to local authorities that their strategic policy committees, SPCs, which will have an enhanced role, the housing SPCs and the planning SPCs, should make a joint effort in terms of how they will respond to the housing and regeneration challenge we face. There are opportunities for local authorities in this Bill because it brings a new focus, resource and direction in terms of the way we will respond to the challenge we all agree exists.

I do not have much to add in terms of the profits scenario referred to by Deputy Boyd Barrett. I have outlined the position and it is on the record. We need to protect the options available to local authorities to ensure they deliver as many units as possible.

The Deputy asked if the Department is open to proposals for single units. We are already doing that. Where local authorities have identified single units and put them on their priority list, and if there is value for money in it and it meets their housing needs, they are being approved for that throughout the country. As the year goes on, we will be able to give the Deputy more detail on that by way of parliamentary questions and so on. We are open to that, but it must come from the local authority as a priority. Essentially, it is the housing authority that is responsible.

The Minister, Deputy Kelly, and I have an open mind on various mechanisms that can deliver houses, be they private or public, to meet the current need and this Bill is targeted at that in terms of the approach.