Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It needs to be recognised that Housing for All is one of the most comprehensive and ambitious homebuilding plans in the history of the State. I am delighted to be a Government Deputy pushing this huge investment. It is one of the key reasons Fianna Fáil entered Government.

I want to talk about Irish Water and the infrastructure it needs to invest in. We have to have proper waste treatment facilities in our towns, villages and major urban centres. The current lack of infrastructure is contributing to a deterioration in water quality. This issue needs to be addressed and there needs to be significant investment in it. It would be a shame if our lack of wastewater treatment plants and the lack of infrastructure there was to restrict the building of houses. This area needs very significant investment. We have seen reports from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, which clearly show that part of the deterioration in water quality is due to the lack of infrastructure in these key areas.

I want to mention once-off housing in rural areas. As a rural Deputy this is extremely important to me. Rural people feel there will be a ban on the building of houses in rural areas and communities. I have been in touch with the Department about this. Hopefully we will get a commitment on this in the near future and we expect a draft plan on it. It is imperative for rural areas that people are allowed to build there. If we are to keep services and rural communities alive, once-off housing has to be part of any plan for housing in this country. To keep rural communities alive and to keep schools in rural areas, they have to be revitalised. The only way that can happen is with once-off rural housing. Anyone who is from a rural community has to have the right for their family members to build in that area.

I also want to mention the revitalisation of town centres and villages. As others have said, there are a lot of empty dwellings in these town centres and villages and I welcome the commitment in Housing for All to incentivise the refurbishment of same. It will enhance these town centres and villages and will provide a lot of units for families to live in.

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