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

I thank the Deputies. The commission will be independent of my Department and independent of Government. I do not want to set its work programme. However, the terms of reference will be broad enough. The Deputies will see that. I expect that the commission will look at areas such as standards, delivery, cost and constitutional reform, where it is required. The terms of reference will be broad enough for the commission to set out its work programme.

On Deputy Bruton's point regarding delivery, I am acutely aware of the issue. We need to be across all streams, such as repair and leasing and CPOs, as referenced by the Deputy. We are going to co-ordinate CPOs through the Housing Agency, which will manage that for local authorities. There will be a new fund for CPOs of vacant properties. I do not want the commission to be a shadow Department. There is other work it can do and it can take a longer-term view. The delivery issues are real and the Ministers of State and I are acutely aware of them. We are focused on addressing them. We have given additional resources to the housing delivery co-ordination office. Experienced people are now co-ordinating with local authorities on the delivery not just of new builds, but also on refurbishments and repair and leasing.

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