Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to speak on this motion. Before taking office, the Minister spent four or five years alongside me on the housing committee in the last Dáil. We talked so much that we could have built castles out of talk. There are logjams and blockages in the system and, as previous speakers referred to, a lack of infrastructure. Any scheme that will help with those problems is welcome, but I want it to focus on rejuvenating our rural villages and towns. In my constituency, I am talking about the centres of Clommel, Tipperary town, Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Cahir and, in north Tipperary, Nenagh, Roscrea and all of those places. To bring those towns back to life, two actions are needed. First, the planning charges and fees must be cut out and, second, something must be done about VAT. The Government needs to fast-track the system and allow the closed businesses and shops in those places to be living spaces again. If we stop the dereliction, we will have living towns, with people back on the main streets from which they were hunted. The Minister must examine the problem with logjams and do something about it.

I could not believe it when I heard on "Morning Ireland" earlier that the newspapers today are reporting that NAMA offered houses to almost every county council in the country but many of them, including my local authority, refused them. We need to get stuff moving and be shovel ready. We can bring in all the schemes we like but they will not work if the infrastructure is not there.

Planning permission cannot be got in rural Ireland. The 2040 plan is not helping with the huge issues in this regard and nor are the different regulations. The cost of building is another problem. If one takes VAT, taxes and other charges together, they account for nearly 60% of costs. The Green Party's policies are putting extra costs on timber. There is a lack of forestry timber being cut and there are issues with the importation of different materials from abroad. I am appealing to the Minister to ensure the logjams are broken in order to allow people to build houses in rural Ireland, especially those who have the wherewithal to get a loan to do so.

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