Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Quinn for her presentation and for coming before the committee. It is very important that we get this strategy document right and that the strategy for the Department reflects the significant challenges facing the country in terms of Covid, climate action and Brexit but also reflects the fact we have a new Government made up of three very distinct parties.

Significant effort was put into agreeing a programme for Government with shared objectives. The Department's strategy must reflect it so it is important that we do not just have a business as usual approach and a refreshing of the previous strategy document but instead have a new departure and a new strategy that reflects the shared objectives of this Government. It is critical that it reasserts the State's role in the provision of social infrastructure, the protection of our natural resources and serving our communities in terms of local democracy.

When I go through the last strategy document, and I presume the witnesses will attempt to mirror somewhat the sections, in terms of housing, there was a specific question about the referendum on housing. While I accept that this is a strategy document so it will not call out a date for a referendum on the right to housing, it must mention the very clear actions that have been identified in the programme for Government. There are over 200 of them that, as was noted by the witnesses, this Department will be responsible for delivering so the strategy must reflect that level of that responsibility and also reflect that level of commitment. In terms of housing, the strategy must state that the State is going to reassert its role in the provision of housing, a referendum on housing, the provision of public housing on public land and the provision of affordable housing. The previous document spoke about renting and improving the rental sector. We need something much more ambitious than just saying we are going to improve the rental sector. We must say that we are going to deliver affordable rental and secure tenure in sustainable homes. If this strategy is not ambitious like that, delivery will fall far short of what people demand of us.

The planning section needs to call out significant important planning objectives around planning for the marine and wind energy. We have all collectively agreed that the SHDs have failed to deliver housing. They did deliver accelerated planning decisions. We welcome that but the planning section needs to talk about not just achieving efficiency but also quality in planning decisions.

In terms of local government, a number of referenda are mentioned but local government is key to local communities and citizens so we must champion local government in the strategy. The Department must do so over the next four years in terms of its strategy and its ability to deliver for its citizens, housing and planning. Our local authority members are the hardest working public representatives in the country. The Department's strategy must call out a commitment to supporting our local authority members and working over the next four years to do that.

We all know that water is a precious and finite resource. We need to very much call that out in our strategy and identify how we are going to ensure that is asserted. I appreciate that heritage is a new Department but it is a 50% increase in the Department's staff so I am really interested in seeing how we will incorporate heritage in the next draft strategy.

Was an evaluation of the previous strategy carried out that identifies achievement against objectives and if so, can we get a copy? What are the next steps? There is a target for a strategy to be agreed within six months so the clock is really ticking. Will we get a draft of it before it is published? Will it come back to the committee? How will that work?