Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will inquire into the issue raised by Deputy McDonald, in terms of the background to this. That was an appalling, terrible tragedy which caused enormous grief for the families. I recall it well. In situations like this, it is important families do not get dragged into a situation where they have exorbitant legal bills arising from situations that are not in their control. The Deputy said the Minister, Deputy Ryan, has argued against paying the legal costs. Has he publicly argued against it? I have not seen those comments but I will discuss this with the Minister, get the background and revert to the Deputy. I prefer to get a full report and get the full background on what has transpired and then I will make a more informed comment on it.

On Deputy Boyd Barrett's point, the Government view has been to move on from the strategic housing development process and cause that scheme to expire. We have initiated a full comprehensive planning review because we think there is a need, legally and so on, to streamline planning overall and to facilitate communities raising issues in respect of developments.

I take the Deputy's point that one third of SHDs were not commenced. That is not acceptable. That was not the reason these were brought in some years back. The idea was to get supply into the housing market and get houses built. If people get planning permission, they should build housing or apartments. If they do not, we will introduce a tax to penalise those who hoard land to secure an increased valuation. We have to disincentivise people hoarding land or endeavouring to increase the value of land through zoning or planning permissions. We want a situation where you use it or lose it, or you get penalised for hoarding land. That is an important measure we took in the budget to try to get a move on in terms of housing supply. That is in addition to the full range of measures introduced-----

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