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

I thank Senator Cummins. I visited one of the converted pubs in Waterford with the Senator on a wet day. I noted the difference between converting other premises and this. The people doing it informed me of the hoops they had to jump through and it did not seem to make sense. Many other examples were given to me. I commend the Senator for that and for his ongoing engagement on setting aside the 250 sq. m restriction. I am always open to changes within it, as are the officials. We want things to work as well as they can. There is no point in putting up hurdles where we do not need to. We need controls and the measures in this are controls.

The Senator has raised the matter of having more repair and lease type properties in different tenures. I am open to looking at that with regard to cost rental and affordable rental but we need scale to make that work. The Croí Cónaithe towns and villages fund will help. Young and not-so-young individuals or couples will be able to get assistance from the Government to buy those properties. The Government will give them substantial financial assistance to help refurbish and do up that home. That can unlock a lot.

The other thing under Housing for All is the CPO campaign, which I referred to in response to Deputy Flaherty. That will be managed by the Housing Agency. We will CPO properties for public use and for sale back into the market, focused on first-time buyers. A tenure mix is needed, with different types of families and individuals. That is what we want to do. These changes are a step in the right direction on part of it. We will also provide financial support for people to take properties back into use.