Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This legislation is particularly welcome by the Green Party, not just because it will address the delivery of affordable housing but because it enshrines in legislation for the first time cost-rental housing. We have long advocated for this form of housing, based on the Vienna model. We met Green Party colleagues from Austria recently to learn from their experience and craft that European leading example into our legislation. It is simple, makes perfect sense and provides a long-term and sustainable housing model at affordable rents with security for those renters. It will deliver that much-needed State-supported public housing on public lands. It is not just the Green Party that has pushed for cost-rental schemes. The National and Economic Social Council stated in its recent report on housing delivery the importance of establishing a national cost-rental programme at scale, which is key.

I thank the Minister and his departmental officials for working with us to include this important element, which is provided for in Part 3. I spoke to many people during the general election campaign about housing matters and this Green Party proposal, and I indicated we would legislate for it if in government. Today, it is what we are doing.

The passing of this Bill will be a pivotal moment in the delivery of housing in this country and I view it as a moment when we will accelerate a whole-of-government approach to building homes, including social and affordable homes, along with affordable, secure and high-quality rental homes. It will not happen overnight and there will be challenges. This will require the full attention of the Government and a commitment to funding. That commitment is there and this Government will be the one to deliver on housing.

I hope we can get cross-party support to do so. We have massive cross-party support and we have put in a lot of time at the Oireachtas committee on the pre-legislative scrutiny. There were some 60 amendments submitted to our pre-legislative scrutiny report, and 54 of those amendments were agreed across the parties. I expect to see that cross-party support here today when we vote on this Bill. The committee had many witnesses, including the County and City Management Association, the approved housing bodies, and the Land Development Agency, all of which expressed their satisfaction with the Bill. They are at the coalface of the delivery of public housing. This is what impresses me about it.

I am out of time but I will be supporting the Bill and I thank the Minister of State for his work on it.

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