Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I do not agree with the Deputy that the shortage of zoned land is the cornerstone of the housing problem. I also do not agree with him about cutting the likes of tax, VAT and so on. That would just go to the developers rather than the householders. The Housing for All strategy the Government is delivering is the right approach to tackling this. Central to it has to be the national planning framework. At its core are three key objectives: better-balanced regional development, more compact development and low-carbon development.

The first objective of better-balanced development is very important. I go around country to talk to different councils. I was in Limerick, Cork and Waterford and will be going to Galway shortly to listen what is actually happening on the ground. I spend time with the councillors to hear what is really happening and about what is being zoned and built and about what is not happening. We are still not sufficiently following the guidance of the national planning framework. Too much of the housing is still in the greater Dublin area. We need housing in Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway, in particular, but also in towns and villages throughout the country in order that we get a better-balanced spread.

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