Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for introducing this important Bill, which is long overdue. I thank the Minister for the €5 million allocated to Dublin City Council today to tackle void homes. We look forward to such funding for other local authorities.

This is the first ever legislation that focuses purely on affordable housing. It is a significant intervention in the housing market that will put affordability at the heart of the housing system. The Bill has four key elements that will help increase the supply and availability of affordable housing. It creates a legal framework to support local authorities directly building affordable homes and this will result in thousands of new affordable homes directly built by councils. It establishes the first national cost-rental or affordable rental scheme, which will give people who want to rent but earn above the social housing support limit discounted rates and indefinite leases.

The Bill establishes a new shared equity scheme to help first-time buyers bridge the funding gap and purchase their first home. It rightly sets a cap on these prices. It also expands the Part V social housing provision to 20%, and this means all new housing schemes will include 20% social and affordable public housing. This will set aside thousands of new homes for public housing.

I am heartened by what appears to be a cross-party consensus for the Bill. We discussed it many times and there was indication that there would be opposition but I welcome that Deputies from all parties, particularly those from the Opposition, will support the Bill today. I hope we can continue to work in the vein of consensus to ensure we can deliver the provisions in the Bill.

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