Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Carthy in the sense that there is a cost to the Exchequer. It is an outlay and an investment by the Exchequer in the provision of social housing. The Government has committed to and is front-loading record investment in social, affordable and cost-rental housing, more than any Government has provided in the history of the State. The Minister is deeply committed to that through Housing for All.

I fully agree that social housing is not charity. Families pay rent. It has been a very good model. The provision of social housing certainly declined in previous years and the State is playing catch-up and doing so at scale. It is critically important that this Government and Governments in the coming decades continue to invest in social and affordable housing.

The Minister has stated several times previously that he is committed to implementing these changes once the Housing Agency's scoping report and review have been completed. We recognise that the current models do not work and are not reflective of modern incomes and the modern needs of families. There is a commitment by the Minister and we will continue with the investment in social housing in particular. The State has done this very well through the decades. The phase we are implementing through Housing for All is a new one comparable with what happened in the 1940s and 1950s. We can do this at scale and it is critically important that we do. I give the Deputy a commitment, on behalf of the Minister, that this will be implemented.

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