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

I have spoken to the Minister on this and work is under way on increasing the income thresholds.

I agree with Deputy Durkan. We should accelerate the use of modular homes and system-built housing. We need different types of housing, including increased use of timber-framed housing. Only 20% of housing here uses timber-frame construction, while it is 80% in Scotland. We need faster and more innovative approaches. We must also stop all the opposition to different housing types. It seems the first response, as opposed to the last response, is to oppose housing developments because of the mix in them or whatever. I find it incredible that we are in the middle of a crisis of this scale and that we have the number of people in need of housing that we do, and yet people are saying: "Delay, delay, delay".

On students, again there has been a reduction of €1,000 in the fees this year and it will be €500 in the next academic year. It is not a once-off measure. This has already been put into the budgetary figures. There is also a double payment for those receiving Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants. Significant supports are being made available to students this year. There is an issue with student accommodation. I said this, and in recent days, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, has been working with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the universities in respect of building on the land the universities have to try to reduce the viability gap they say exists between what the they could build accommodation for and what they could reasonably expect students to pay for it.

Again, the Government has to intervene, just as it has right across the board in housing. The Government is the biggest actor in the area of housing right now, including in social housing, cost-rental housing, affordable housing and the Croí Cónaithe fund. No matter what scheme we look at, the Government is coming in to try to bridge viability gaps in the marketplace. We need to get more student accommodation built and we are committed to doing that.

Regarding the issue identified concerning a winter eviction ban, I made it clear that Covid gave us the context to do this legally. There are legal issues involved and that was all I raised yesterday. What I am saying is that these issues cannot be ignored. I hear what the Deputy is saying and I know the Minister keeps this under constant review. We did put in place a ban during Covid and we had a strong legal basis to do so. We are going to do everything we possibly can. The Minister has acted to make it clear that where tenants receiving HAP or RAS are in danger of being evicted, the local authorities can and should buy the house to prevent the eviction from taking place.

On the Irish Refugee Council, the figures on the Irish response this year are extraordinary. We are in a war-time situation and we must acknowledge that. That is why there is a huge challenge in respect of the numbers of people coming into the country. Even the figures for the normal international protection accommodation services, IPAS, route are significant, with about 15,000 people expected this year. This compares with the norm of 3,500. We also have 50,000 Ukrainians who have fled the war. That is the context we are in and it is causing great pressures. I pay tribute to the civil servants, the local authorities and everybody who has responded to this incredibly difficult and challenging situation.

I will respond to the Deputy later regarding homelessness. There are other issues with homelessness in terms of presentations from within the European Economic Area, EEA, on a continuing basis and these are also impacting our emergency housing situation. Some of those arriving have large families, and that is ongoing. Not everything is as it seems either, but this is something we are determined to try to reduce.

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