Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 3 June 2021

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed)

Photo of Richard O'DonoghueRichard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to the Minister of State for several minutes and all I heard out of his mouth, again and again, were the words “affordable housing”. How will the Government address affordable housing when there has been a 37% increase in the cost of materials coming into this country since 1 January? That increase is due to the 2040 plan brought in by the Government in 2018. The Government refused to accept an amendment by the Rural Independent Group on this two weeks ago. Nobody in this country will be able to get affordable housing because that Bill was not amended. We now have a shortage of housing, not only in built-up areas, a 37% increase in material costs and a lack of contractors to do the work.

The Minister of State says he will deliver affordable housing. He gave a rough costing of €100 billion. What he is saying is not accurate. I have been in construction all my life. I see the changes daily. There are ships on the seas carrying materials that are being bid for by different countries and the highest bidder gets those ships into port.

Brexit has caused a massive problem in our ports, with goods held up for the last three weeks. The costs are caused by what is happening in the ports and one section not talking to the other. The Government is causing a bigger problem. To get affordable housing we have to get equipment and materials into the country and we must have the right number of people available to build it. The 2040 plan has caused a 40% to 50% hike in prices for housing. The Government has caused a problem in local authorities with the number of planning applications coming in at the moment. I have 70 applications for housing on my books. I am getting phone calls daily on a programme introduced by a Fine Gael-led Government in 2018, which has led to a 37% increase in costs. Nothing will be affordable in this country until the Government simplifies things for the rest of the country.

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