Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)

I thank the witnesses for coming in today. My first questions are for the Department and, unfortunately, it is under fire because of the way many of us see it. To cut to the chase, it is an absolute disaster. We are failing a generation, who are emigrating or stuck at home and depressed. The figures outlined by the Government in the previous Housing for All plan - the witnesses did not give figures today for what is coming - are completely inadequate as regards affordable purchase homes to be delivered by the State and affordable rental. We have a fundamental perspective problem with our housing policy, which is that the State is still ultimately reliant on the market and seems to be still obsessed with how we incentivise that market, rather than accepting that the market will never deliver affordable housing The State has to do it. The fact that all the issues Mr. Taaffe outlined are still being outlined so many years into an emergency is absolutely unacceptable.

I will question a number of areas. First, on affordable housing schemes, yesterday I met the Housing Alliance of approved housing bodies, which said that the approval of schemes for affordable housing by the Department is being delayed. Are affordable rental housing schemes being delayed? When schemes come to the Department, are they being approved or does it have to go to the Department of public expenditure to get approval for funding for affordable housing schemes?