Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for the frankness of his views. His opening comments were welcome and my questions take them on board. Many first-time buyers find it impossible to get into the market. One of the reasons is that they cannot come up with the 10% deposit. At the same time, there is much land in infill sites owned by local authorities and banks of land owned by State organisations. Is there a possibility of using the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which has a large amount of money and is off-balance sheet, to invest at a commercial level to fund the development or the infrastructure of these sites? The qualifying people would be first-time buyers or proposals for social housing.

Could such investment be fast-tracked? Given that the State owns these lands and has access to finance, why can they not be serviced to cater for this group?

Will the Minister review the room to rent scheme, under which people may earn up to €12,000 per year tax free in renting out a room? I understand rooms may be rented to only one person and that he or she may also avail of a tax break on the rent paid. Will the Minister vary the qualifying conditions with a view to increasing the number of people offering to rent accommodation under the scheme? I refer, in particular, to measures targeting so-called empty nesters and others who have significant space available in their homes.

The Minister referred briefly to developing accommodation in space available above shops. Hundreds of people lived in Drogheda town centre 70 or 80 years ago but no one lives in it now. Will the Minister introduce measures to incentivise the owners of town centre premises to provide modern accommodation that meets fire safety and other requirements?

Is a fast-track mechanism available to encourage development, given that water and sewerage infrastructure, shops and so forth are in place? The provision of incentives in this area could quickly deliver significant results for people on the housing list.