Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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We have received no apologies. Deputies are welcome. Before we proceed, I have a few housekeeping matters to go through.

In accordance with Standing Orders I wish to make the following declaration:

I do solemnly declare that I will duly and faithfully, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, execute the office of Cathaoirleach of the Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage without fear or favour, apply the rules as laid down by the House in an impartial and fair manner, maintain order and uphold the rights and privileges of Members within the Constitution and Standing Orders.

I remind members of the constitutional requirement that, in order to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex. Members of the committee attending remotely must do so from within the precincts of Leinster House. This is due to the constitutional requirement that, in order to participate in public meetings, members must be physically present within the confines of the place where the Parliament has chosen to sit. In this regard, I ask members partaking via Microsoft Teams that, prior to making their contributions to the meeting, they confirm they are on the grounds of the Leinster House campus.

Members are also reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable or otherwise engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory regarding an identifiable person or entity, I will direct them to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that members comply with any such direction.

I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed as Cathaoirleach of the housing, local government and heritage committee for the term of the Thirty-fourth Dáil and the Twenty-seventh Seanad. The remit of this committee covers one of the most acutely important issues for our country at this moment, that is, housing. While I appreciate the remit of the committee is wider than this and we therefore need balance, we are also in a housing crisis, so there needs to be a significant focus on housing for the term ahead and as long as is required.

I welcome you all as members of this committee and look forward to welcoming our colleagues from the Seanad next week. We have a lot of work to do together and it is by us all working together that we can make positive changes. I welcome all new members to the committee. In particular, I welcome back Deputies Gould and Ó Broin, who sat on this committee in the previous term. I commend them on their individual work and contribution to the previous committee and recognise the work of the previous committee and those before it.

A key piece of work during the previous committee term that is still fresh in our minds and took a significant amount of effort was the Planning and Development Act. Now that it has been legislated, a key role for this committee is to ensure it is reviewed and, more importantly, fully implemented and that those responsible for implementing it are held accountable.

I will not speak too much as I will be repeating myself next week when we formally come together as a joint committee.

For now, I look forward to working with you all in a genuine spirit of partnership and co-operation in generating and sharing ideas through active engagement and capitalising on the breadth of experience and knowledge we have in the room. We all have a shared aim of addressing the many issues and challenges relating to housing, local government and heritage and to improve the lives of those living in our country.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his appointment. It is a very significant role, particularly given the importance of this committee. From speaking to party colleagues who served on a committee he chaired previously, I know he was true to his word and chaired that committee in a very fair and impartial manner. I hope it will be the same this time around.

The only comment I will make is that this is my third Oireachtas term. This committee has worked well when it has worked in a collegiate manner. We will have plenty of opportunities to have political disagreements on the floor of the Dáil or indeed on the airwaves. However when in committee, not unlike how many of us did when we were on councils, when we come together and try to work together to address or resolve the problems we know are out there, the committee can do some very important work. That is always a challenge when we still have to go into the Chamber or out on the airwaves and have our more partisan battles, but I have had a lot of very good experiences in this committee previously when working on a collegiate basis to try to deal with those issues and problems. This committee has done some very good work. I hope we can achieve that this time around as well. I look forward to working with all members.

It is also worth noting that I think we have a much better balance this time around both in terms of the urban areas we represent, namely, Limerick city, Cork city and Dublin city. We also have a much better urban-rural balance. These issues, whether it is planning, housing, water or heritage, involve an urban-rural divide. That will make this a much more interesting committee in terms of the balance of our work. I look forward to working with all colleagues in the time ahead.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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I echo Deputy Ó Broin's comments. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his appointment. Housing is the biggest social and economic issue facing the country. We need to work together to work on solutions. While we might have differences, I think this committee is probably the most important committee that will meet during the term of this Dáil. We have massive work ahead of us, but I hope we will be able to work together. I will work in as collegiate a manner as possible and try to focus on solutions.

Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Like other members, I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his election. It is certainly an onerous and responsible task given the challenges we face. As the Cathaoirleach said, this committee is not just about housing. It has a broader remit, but housing is the number one issue in terms of the Government's work and the challenges we face nationally on the housing front. I look forward to working with everyone here. I welcome the comments of the other members on collegiality and working in a collaborative manner. As was stated, there are plenty of other forums for political debate. When we are at meetings of this committee, I hope we can roll up our sleeves and take a workmanlike approach in terms of getting information and answers and progressing issues, particularly on the housing front, that are critically important

We had a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts this morning. I am a member of that committee also, and we said we would leave politics at the door. It is important we do that as much as we can. I know the Committee of Public Accounts is a committee like no other in one sense. In light of the national challenge we face in the housing, it is important to try to work together insofar as is possible. I look forward to working with everyone, playing as active a part as I can and being a strong colleague for all the other members.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. Many congratulations to him on his election. Even though I am not a formal member of this committee, as Labour Party spokesperson on housing I look forward to being a regular attender and to keeping abreast of the work the committee does. This is a very important committee. It does really important work. Politics is at its best when we work across party lines to find solutions to the problems we face in our communities throughout the country. I look forward to the work ahead. I echo the comments made by colleagues.

Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank everyone for their comments.

That is the way I work. I work together with everybody. From all parties and none, I consider everybody a colleague. Working together, we will make changes. This is the biggest issue we have in our country at the minute. I agree with the comments of Deputy McGrath that we leave politics at the door and work together to tease out issues, hold accountable those who need to be held accountable, and try to make the changes that we need to improve housing output. I thank everyone.

We will go into private session to deal with some housekeeping matters.