Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has told us he sees the levy as an incentive to stimulate the market. He does not really envisage a great deal of money coming in through the levy and is hoping it will push developers and others to use the lands. He is mistaken. It will not work in the way he thinks. The reason I proposed the amendment was to clearly provide that whatever money comes in through the levy be targeted at social housing on lands under the control of local authorities. The Minister of State referred to the vicinity of sites and a raft of areas. Even in the present legislation, there is a raft of areas where the money could be used. It is a get-out clause for a lot of local authorities. If it came before me on Dublin City Council, I would be saying to myself that I could send the money into any department. I am asking specifically to include in the Bill a clear undertaking that the money will go to local authority social housing. That is what I clearly want, because the crisis out there requires it. I ask the Minister of State to think again about what he is saying here. He is giving local authorities an awful way out. I know he, or at least his party, is ideologically opposed to social housing, as we have seen time out of number. That is wrong and it is why we have a crisis. It is why we have so many people on the housing lists at the moment. It is why so many people are homeless. Since the death of Jonathan Corrie, the number of families who have gone on the housing and homeless list has doubled. That is the reality of what has happened.

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