Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a couple of observations. First, regarding the previous discussion, it is important that we recognise that if we are to try to fix the housing market, in which the Taoiseach has taken a personal interest, along with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to drive that through the Cabinet committee, we must have all stakeholders and parts of the housing market functioning. That includes the State playing its role and the private sector playing its role by people buying their own houses, but also a functioning rental market. The evidence clearly indicates that an eviction ban does not assist with that long-term goal. I find it strange that some people take a very different view of the evidence down here than those who are in charge in implementing policy in the North. It is very strange because the same evidence tells the same story but it is assessed very differently by people. To me, it is very clear. The Taoiseach has taken the right approach.

We must be committed to increasing the housing supply for many years ahead. That means activating all the levers in place today to achieve that goal. While an eviction ban might lead to some very short-term gains in some respects, the Government has put the resources in place to deal with the difficulties and prevent people becoming homeless and the Taoiseach has issued a very clear direction to local authorities to buy up homes. All Deputies have been asking for that for years. The option was always there but now there is a very clear direction, with money set aside to achieve that goal. That will prevent people being evicted from their homes and it will prevent homeless, which is very important.

When we assess the progress that has been made in recent years to try to deal with people who end up in emergency accommodation, thankfully that journey has been shortened for most people and their time spent in the emergency situation has been greatly reduced. All of us want to make sure that it never happens at all, which is key, but what is more important is that if it does happen, the State would immediately step in with all its resources to make sure it is for a very short duration. That is the progress we are making. The announcement this week will assist people to be able to stay in their home. I compliment the Taoiseach and all involved with that drive.

Second, I wish to comment on the scaling up of the housing delivery and the various targets we want to achieve. It is very important that this is done in a sustainable way so that when we scale up supply it is guaranteed to be there every year for the next ten, 15 or 20 years. If we do not do that and we decide to go to 70,000 one year and back down to 30,000 the next year, we are back to square one, which caused the problem in the first place.

The Revised Estimates are part of what the Taoiseach is trying to drive, namely, a sustainable increase in housing supply, so that we know when we get to 30,000 this year, the money will there again next year and the year after. That is what we need to do, or bring it up to 40,000, by guaranteeing those who choose to work in construction have a safe career path; and that those who choose to invest, be it a housing body, a local authority or the private sector, buy into a sustainable construction sector. That is how we fix housing, once and for all, permanently. That is what we are trying to do. As the Taoiseach said, we are providing for a long-term fix as well as dealing with today's issues. I compliment the work in that regard as well.

My final comment relates to the accommodation and solutions being provided for people coming here from abroad, mainly from Ukraine because of what is happening due to Russia. We must compliment all involved - the State, communities, local authorities and the various Departments. It has been an immense response from the country as a whole. The majority of people in this country have played their part in it. We now turn to a medium to long-term solution. The initial response was to an emergency. We had to find accommodation for up to 80,000 people. As well as the provision of housing accommodation, we had to find places right across the system in education, job creation, State supports and training and advice to people coming to live here. The response right across the system has been immense. We must compliment all involved in that, as well as the Irish people who played a role. The medium to long-term solutions and initiatives are happening as well. It is important that the Taoiseach is driving that through the various committees he chair as well. I compliment him on that. I will leave it at that for now.