Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I thank our guests for their presentations and for their participation here today. The Chair was diplomatic. I would nearly go as far as to say our guests are rejecting it. We value their input. It is important. We spend all our time talking about housing and construction. From their perspective, everyone recognises the high cost, high risk and low margin, and yet we do not have enough of it.

It is welcome that there has been a 50% uplift in the past year alone. We would like to see that repeated this year and every year for the next ten years. We are coming out of a decade of undersupply. There was a deficit of at least 100,000 homes when this Government was formed in 2020. We need to see that uplift continue. I believe nobody, either in government or opposition, wants to introduce any legislation or take any action that would in any way undermine the reversal that we are beginning to see occur in the construction of homes. We are all on the same page in that respect.

In terms of their submissions today, I suppose my first question would be one that the public asks repeatedly. There is planning permission existing for 80,000 homes and it is estimated 44,000 of them are in Dublin. I note Hooke and MacDonald's study was on Kilkenny and Galway. Was there a reason Hooke and MacDonald did not study Dublin? Dublin is where we see the greatest housing need, the greatest demand, the highest cost and, I think we would all accept, the greatest viability challenges. When replying, perhaps Mr. MacDonald could address that.

Mr. Farrell of IIP stated that the Bill would create further problems where already there is an issue around viability. Perhaps he could elaborate on what IIP sees some of those "significant unintended consequences." Mr. Farrell talks about the lessons learnt in terms of the UDZs. Maybe he could elaborate on what those lessons learnt are.

We might start with Hooke and MacDonald.