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

We were able to flag it with the sector in good time. Obviously, I had to get Government approval because there is a significant cost involved. We cover the costs of the development levy waivers directly, so no local authority is out of pocket at all. These are real commencements although some have been saying they are just commencement notices. There are much stricter criteria in this regard. We have a completion date for the scheme, so if a project is not completed by 31 December 2026, the money must come back. The sector realises the measure was a short-term one we took to ensure schemes that could not start because of increased costs would start.

If anything, the challenge now is to increase capacity within the sector. We have about 30,000 more workers in the construction sector now than before the pandemic, and we are seeing a move of construction workers from commercial projects to residential projects, which is welcome. The commencement figures for the first quarter of this year are extremely strong. We will not be complacent about this but the figures show the plan is agile. This was not a measure in the original Housing for All plan. Any plan that comes forward has to deal with the environment that exists. We will never have a fair wind right the way through. In this regard, we have dealt with Covid, supply chain issues associated with the war in Ukraine and near hyperinflation, with double-digit inflation affecting material costs, but we have still been able to increase housing output substantially from 20,000 in 2020 to about 33,000 last year. I expect the number to be between 35,000 and 40,000, if not more, this year.