Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are on track to get the commission up and running on time. There has been a lot of work in this. Obviously, we want to ensure the commission is populated with the right people with the right expertise and that we have a cross-section of knowledge and expertise feeding in. It will meet formally once a month, with 12 meetings each year. Work will also be done within the subgroups. I expect the Chairman of the joint Oireachtas committee, Deputy Matthews, has no question regarding the fact that if the committee wishes to engage with the commission, it will do so. My focus is getting the commission up and running. Its chairman is in place already.

Mr. O'Connor has done a lot of work with me on the terms of reference. We have circulated the memorandum for observations. The commission will meet before the end of the year, even if it is just an initial meeting. We want to set out its work programme. I cannot go into the detail of the terms of reference as they have not been published, but they will certainly be broad enough to give the commission the latitude to tackle issues the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage or I believe they should. The referendum on housing is a commitment that we made and it is one that I am committed to. The commission is the right place for that work to be finished off, and then we can move towards a referendum.

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