Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The reason for the shortage of housing supply is that when the country experienced its worst ever recession only a few short years ago, the bottom fell out of the construction sector. The current problems in housing are part of that legacy. We have a plan to address these problems, namely, Rebuilding Ireland, and we are only 18 months into this five-year programme. After 18 months, people claimed the five-year Action Plan for Jobs would not work, yet it was successful. We have to give Rebuilding Ireland time.

The number of commencement notices for houses has increased by more than 40% to 18,000. In 2017, the number of social houses built was three times higher than the number completed in 2016. Since 1 February, a new Rebuilding Ireland home loan has been available from local authorities. We have also introduced measures to fast-track the planning process for large developments and apartments. In 2018 alone, more than 2,300 homes and 3,400 student bed spaces have been approved through this process. We introduced rent pressure zones to cap rent increases at 4% in pressure areas. Today, the Government announced that breaches of the cap would be a criminal offence. In 2018, we will spend €1.9 billion on housing, which is an increase of 46% on 2017. I accept we need to do more but building houses takes time.

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