Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Aire and the Department for the opening statement. The tenant in situscheme has worked spectacularly well for anyone who has been able to avail of it. I want to commend Dublin City Council on having piloted it a number of years ago. I welcome the fact that it has been put on a permanent footing with the Department. The numbers refer to the numbers of houses but do not reflect the number of individuals who avoid homelessness as a consequence of the house being acquired. The fact that it is being extended to the affordable, cost-rental tenancies is very welcome, but the numbers I read in the statement are significantly lower.

Will the Minister comment on how he and the Department see that progressing and scaling up? We still have an affordability crisis, notwithstanding the significant funding that is going into the delivery of affordable homes to purchase and to rent. From a Dublin city perspective, where we already have a high percentage of private rental tenancies, the tenant in situscheme is incredibly valuable in adding security of tenure, real permanent homes to people who have been renting and, for a long period, who are embedded in those communities, with children going to school, family and so on. Will the Minister comment on the extension and scaling up of the affordable cost rental tenant in situscheme? Will he give us an update on the situation with Dublin City Council? Obviously, Coilín O'Reilly has stepped aside. What is the process to replace the head of housing for Dublin City Council looking like?