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

I was waiting with bated breath to be able to come back in to answer. Deputy Boyd Barrett made another startling admission that he would open up social housing to everyone regardless of income. We have to live in the real world about delivering homes for people who badly need them. There are many people on the social housing list we need to address. The LDA in this legislation will help to supplement what local authorities will deliver. It will not be instead of but in addition to, as I have said before.

I addressed Deputy Boyd Barrett's amendment. He is putting forward conditions on home ownership, effectively. That is my view; he is entitled to his, and I respect it. He would be creating another level of social housing. I have been clear that I believe in home ownership and in public housing. Home ownership is a just and honest aspiration for people to have. I do not support some of the conditionality some seek to put on home ownership.

I am well aware of how the serviced sites fund works. Deputy Ó Broin's scheme is a different one. Of course, people have to pay. Should the State take an equity under the serviced sites fund, they will have to pay that back. The Deputy's proposals would put a condition on the house in its totality as to what happens with it, who it goes to or who it is sold to. I do not believe those provisions are workable. In the area of affordability, I repeat that Parts 2 and 3 of the Affordable Housing Bill detail what the cost-rental provisions and affordable purchase provisions are.

I will be aligning this Bill with the Affordable Housing Bill. It is important that is done. On Report Stage, I will bring forward amendments to Part 9. It is open to anyone to look at Parts 2 and 3 of the Affordable Housing Bill. As I have said before in the Dáil, I will be bringing in regulations alongside which set out the eligibility criteria. The reason for regulations is that they give more flexibility in the future to make changes, particularly when the scheme is new around eligibility. I want as many people as possible to be able to access affordable housing. That is what we all want.

Those are the reasons I am opposing amendments Nos. 47, 219 and 220.