Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Labour Party is very disappointed that the Government has sought to defer the Second Reading of the Bill for 12 months. We are disappointed because for thousands of people throughout the State the acquisition of a home is urgent in the here and now. Dressing up the deferment of this legislation, which arises from a report issued 48 years ago, and calling it premature because it is at variance with the Law Reform Commission's consideration of the Acquisition of Development Land (Assessment of Compensation) Bill is not an honest argument to make as a rebuttal. It does not speak for the people who anxiously want to own a home, live in a home or have fixity of tenure at least or for those who wish to be able to rent a home. It speaks volumes about the fact that, from an ideological point of view, this Government and its component parts still believe that the market alone will deliver housing.

In this country, we have always had an approach whereby the State could provide. The implementation of the Kenny report is one mechanism for doing so. The promulgation of this legislation, which many people accept as being the outworking of the Kenny report and its recommendations, could not be deemed or adjudicated to be premature when it is self-evident, with many thousands of people waiting to get a house, that this issue is urgent and needs to be dealt with now.

There is no reason the Government could not support this legislation now, allow it to pass Second Stage and then deal with all the issues that the Minister of State raised in his contribution. The views of the Law Reform Commission on the consolidation of compulsory purchase order laws could be dealt with easily through the prism of this legislation. It could be done now rather than waiting for 12 months. It could be dealt with coterminous with the Government's housing for all strategy. We ask the Government to reconsider its position in respect of our humble legislation, which is the culmination of a wait of 48 years. We have been trying for some time to promulgate this legislation. If the Minister of State says that he is in principle in agreement with it, I do not see why it could not pass Second Stage at this point. All the issues he highlighted as reasons it cannot proceed could be debated on Committee Stage. There will be ample time in the coming 12 months, as opposed to going beyond 12 months, to deal with the issues the Minister of State has outlined.

The bottom line is that we, as public representatives, are dealing with thousands of people, young and old, who cannot get access to housing. They cannot build houses or purchase houses in their localities. There is no sense of a timescale for when they will see houses on the horizon.

The national planning framework is having the effect of dezoning land. Local authorities, like my local authority in Cork, are now taking zoned land out of the equation. In addition, Irish Water and other infrastructural deficits are not being addressed quickly in order that planning permissions can be secured and we can house the people we represent.

There is an opportunity in the here and now to address the issue of housing. It is the issue of our time and of our generation of politicians. I am disappointed that the Minister of State has come to us with this response.

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