Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

I will quote from the Bills Digest, explaining what this is about. It states:

Section 33 amends [section] 96 of the 2000 Act. [It d]etails how a developer may satisfy his or her Part V obligations. This section removes the option of providing a cash payment in lieu of social housing, [which is grand] as well as removing the option of providing sites elsewhere [which is also grand]. It allows the developer to provide completed social housing units in another location in the event that the development in question does not meet the needs of the local authority. Provision is made for the Part V obligation to be fulfilled through long-term leasing.

The removal of the cash element is very welcome but if the leasing aspect of it comes in, we are not going to get social housing out of this. The developers will say to the council that it is not acceptable and they cannot provide social housing in the development but they will allow long-term leasing. It is a no-brainer. The Minister of State cannot allow this to happen. If he is going to reduce the 20% requirement to 10%, which I think is the wrong move at the wrong time, when we need actual social housing, he should at least take the provision allowing long-term leasing arrangements out of it. It has to be done. No one here is saying that all private developers are bad or that we do not need private developments. Of course, we do. We need aspects of everything.The State's obligation is to look at the needs of a society and put in place structures to provide for the housing needs of the people.

We need to build at least 100,000 to 150,000 houses over the next period of time. The Minister of State said it will take time. Of course it will take time, but it will take even longer under the proposals in this legislation.

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