Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“acknowledges the extensive range of measures included in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future, building on the initiatives already undertaken and in progress, which will be brought forward to support individuals and families to access affordable housing and, in particular, welcomes: - that in 2021, the Government set forward the largest housing budget in the history of the State;

- that in 2021, the Government set the most ambitious social housing targets on record;

- that Budget 2021 committed an unprecedented €620 million in affordability measures;

- the expansion of the Help to Buy scheme to €30,000;

- that in July 2021, the Government will deliver the first Cost Rental units in the history of the State;

- that affordable homes for purchase will be made available for purchase from this year;

- the investment of over €1.2 billion in the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, to unlock development in cities and towns around the country this year; and

- the Government’s commitment to putting affordability at the heart of the housing system; and fully supports: - the most comprehensive legislation dealing solely with affordability in the history of the State through the Affordable Housing Bill 2021, which is currently progressing through Seanad Éireann;

- the key elements of the Affordable Housing Bill 2021, encompassing local authority led affordable homes, Cost Rental units, the Affordable Purchase Shared Equity scheme and expanding the provisions made under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000;

- the Land Development Agency Bill 2021, as a seminal change in how we manage public land and strategic planning, which is at Committee Stage in Dáil Éireann;

- the implementation of the commitments in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future to:

- extend the Serviced Sites Fund, which is intended to deliver 6,200 new affordable homes by bringing forward proposals to expand the scope and potential of the fund to accelerate the delivery of affordable homes by local authorities;

- provide seed capital to local authorities to provide serviced sites at cost in towns and villages to allow individuals and families build homes; and

- expand the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan; and

- the development of the Housing for All plan due to be published this summer, setting out a comprehensive new vision for housing in Ireland, putting affordable homeownership back at its heart with ambitious multi-annual funding and specific targets.

I wish to share time with Deputies Emer Higgins and Colm Burke.

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