Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The legislation on affordable housing is making progress. I assure Deputy Cian O'Callaghan that there is much work under way in that regard. On the precise timeline, I hope to be in a position to publish that Bill towards the end of the year. Obviously, there are issues with progressing but it is going in the right direction. We had a meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee on housing this week and very good progress was reported on that matter. Likewise, I assure Deputy Bruton that I have insisted on taking a keen interest in the Bill on the LDA in order to get it through. It has been around for a while and there are many complexities surrounding it. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is working very proactively on it with the Attorney General.

Why? The Deputy is correct that it has the potential to be a significant catalyst in the development of housing. Generally, because of Covid-19, we will probably get 17,000 or 18,000 houses completed this year.

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