Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

We will now hear from our first witnesses to the committee, who will give their insights into the challenges facing the delivery of housing. I invite the representatives of the County and City Management Association, CCMA, to come in but before I introduce them, I will say a few words I did not get to say at our first meeting. I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the term of the 34th Dáil and 27th Seanad. The remit of the committee covers one of the most acutely important issues for our country at this moment, namely, housing. While I appreciate the remit of the committee is wider than housing and we need balance, we are in a housing crisis and there needs to be significant focus on housing for the term ahead and for as long as required.

I welcome members of the committee. We have a lot of work to do and working together, we can make positive changes. I welcome new members of the committee and, in particular, Deputies Gould and Ó Broin who sat on this committee in the previous term. I commend them on their work and individual contributions on the committee. I also recognise the work of previous committees.

Housing is an emergency. As we start our work today, it is imperative we acknowledge that simple reality. It is an emergency for those seeking a roof over their heads. It is an emergency for families trying to buy their own home and start their own lives. Be it social housing, private housing, planning issues, infrastructure, homelessness or workers in construction, there is one big problem and there are issues in each area that we need to break down. It is an emergency for me, as Chair of the committee, and I know every member brings the same sense of urgency to the role today.

I want us to work together to address the greatest societal and economic challenges our country and its people face. While we all hail from different political persuasions, we share a united purpose to resolve this issue once and for all. The scale of that challenge is immense. It is complex and diverse and requires every arm of the State to act, full stop. There is no lever too small or too big if it needs to be pulled. While we have numerous schemes in place, we must question if they are all working and, if not, whether people are being made accountable for that.

Accelerating supply is now crucial. That means zoning more land for the provision of housing and much better co-ordinated access to the services - water, energy and roads - are needed to support the delivery of housing. It means breaking down barriers, co-ordination, zero tolerance for working in silos and having a viable development environment and a growing construction workforce. My priorities for our work programme will be productive. We will have constructive hearings with relevant experts and stakeholders to play our part in generating solutions in these key areas.

I have listened, as we all have, to constituents detailing the impact this crisis has on every aspect of society. Whether it is a couple or single person living with their family when they save for a deposit or the renter whose bills are escalating consistently, this crisis is having real-life consequences for all and we should not shy away from those realities. I want us to work collaboratively and collectively to find solutions that ease this emergency for families across the country. I will work with anybody and everybody to generate solutions, which is what we all want and need.

The Government will publish a new housing plan shortly. I want us to use the time until then to generate ideas and feed that information into a revised Housing for All strategy. Our work programme reflects the manner in which we conduct our business. We will want to hear from experts and make informed recommendations to the Government. We have the CCMA with us today. In the context of social housing, are the approval processes for local authorities too difficult? Are local authorities using the one-stage process when they can? Why can some local authorities deliver serviced sites and cost-rental housing, while others cannot? In the private area, why are the pillar banks we bailed out not providing finance for smaller developers to build housing?

On planning objections and delays with An Bord Pleanála, as Michael Lohan from the IDA recently commented, we as citizens of the State need to reflect. There are many projects of national need that must get through the planning process. We must get to a point of collective progress as opposed to an individual's concern in the planning process. Just 100 years ago this month, the Dáil debated the legislation to set up Ardnacrusha. One fifth of the entire national budget was spent on the project. There was opposition to it but what was clear was a national interest which required investment and a willingness to make sacrifices. The public good thrived.

We have known for years that our water infrastructure is crumbling. Supply in Dublin is on a knife edge. After a few days of good weather recently, we are now talking about water shortages.

I look forward to working with all members in a genuine spirit of partnership and co-operation, generating and sharing ideas through active engagement, capitalising on the best experience and knowledge we have here in this room. All of us here have a shared aim to address the many issues and challenges relating to housing, local government and heritage, and to improve - this is the most important reason we are here - the lives of those who live in our country.