Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is excellent. Perhaps the Deputy will get it right the next time.

On a serious note, we are facing some significant challenges. A priority for all of us is to eradicate homelessness, and we must drive down the numbers of homeless. We need to deliver social and public housing on public land; ensure that there is affordable housing, both for purchase and rental; and also make changes in planning and in local government. Reforms in local government are significant and concern the workings of how councils and local democracy.

Investment in water is a big issue. If we are going to grow our housing stock and house our people, we need to deal with the deficit in capital infrastructure and in capital funding in the area of water, both for fresh water and waste water.

Heritage is also something which comes under my portfolio. It is an important part of the role for which I and Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, will be responsible. I will be working very closely with him on this. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, will be responsible for the planning and local government side. Fire and emergency services and various other elements are also included in this diverse and important portfolio.

I would like to highlight a few points from my statement. This year the Department will spend more than €5 billion. That is a significant spend. Additional funding amounting to €691.5 million has been included in the Revised Estimates for public services and flows directly from the jobs stimulus programme announced by the coalition Government, comprising Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party, in July. A significant portion of that is the €600 million to fund the commercial rates waiver, which business across the Twenty-six Counties badly needed. It is a waiver that ran from March to September 2020. Following the noting and passing of the Revised Estimates in the Dáil tomorrow, the disbursal of this €600 million to all of our local authorities will then take place, which explains the urgency of the matter.

On top of that, I have announced a €43 million Irish Water leakage reduction programme, which has benefited all 31 local authorities within the State. This important work will be completed this year.

We have also allocated €40 million for every local authority as part of the largest voids programme. As most of the members will know, voids are the vacant social housing stock that have remained for longer than 12 months - a matter that has been discussed in this committee a number of times.

Some of it has been vacant for more than 12 months. That matter has been discussed by the committee on several occasions. We allocated €40 million for every local authority, targeted to bring in 2,500 local authority homes back into stock. Those homes will be occupied, or at the very least allocated, this year. Those will be back in stock this year and it is very important that that happens.

The Estimate includes €95 million which has come with the transfer of responsibility for heritage to my Department.

A critical focus this year must be and is the area of preventing homelessness and helping our homeless community. It is envisaged that approximately 5,500 adults will exit from homelessness and into homes in 2020, utilising the various social housing supports. There is an allocation of €196 million in that regard in the Estimate, an increase of €50 million on 2019. This will allow the continued provision of emergency accommodation and supports to individuals and households experiencing homelessness, while also allowing for the very important continued expansion of the Housing First strategy for rough sleepers. There is a firm commitment in the programme for Government to expand that service. What I have done is establish the homelessness task force, which I chair. It is made up of the chief executives of many of the housing charities with which members will be familiar, along with my officials. It meets every week to focus directly on how we can drive down homeless numbers, clear blockages in the system and ensure bureaucracy does not get in the way of helping people to get back into a home.

Other elements relate to the planning side. I have instructed all approved housing bodies and local authorities that estates and new developments should be designed for community and to ensure that we do not have a dearth of one-bedroom and two-bedroom properties. That is why earlier this year, within four weeks of taking over this portfolio, I announced the call for housing initiative, which has a particular focus on one-bedroom units. Frankly, we do not have enough of them. Some 73% of homeless adults are single people, but there is not enough appropriate accommodation for them. I will address that issue. In the short term, we are seeking to purchase those homes through the Housing Agency. Another element is the issue of larger families. Approximately 50 of the families who have been homeless for a sustained period are larger families. We do not have the requisite appropriate accommodation to house those families. I have asked the housing associations, in conjunction with my Department and local authorities, to purchase homes where they can to ensure that these families are housed.

How long do I have left?