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

I have repeatedly made it clear in this House that housing is the single most urgent and important social issue facing our country. The Government has brought in a range of actions in terms of increasing housing supply, and it is about housing supply. The targets this year will be exceeded but we need to do far more. The Deputy used the phrase, and I will take her up on it because I have heard precious little on solutions from anyone in the House. I have had no comprehensive response to Housing for All from any party in this House. There is no alternative comprehensive policy position presented by any party in this House against Housing for All.

The strength of Housing for All is the diverse range of options, from cost rental to affordable and local authority affordable to the Land Development Agency, which is now looking, through Project Tosaigh, at about 5,000 new homes, and then right across the board to the local authorities themselves and the approved housing bodies. We will have a very high number of social housing units this year through building, acquisition and some leases, probably the highest in many a year, but we need solutions. When we come forward in the next couple of weeks, first, with an amendment of the An Bord Pleanála Bill, it will give us stronger powers, not just to cut red tape but to move much faster in the planning process for social and affordable houses.

I look forward to Deputy Bacik’s support when that is presented before the House. I look forward to the Sinn Fein Party’s support. The time for playing with words is over on the Opposition side. It is fine that people can raise issues and that is legitimate, of course, because this is a big issue, but I heard people this morning on radio and television but not one proposal, not one option to do anything other than to criticise an existing range of policies. Supply is the issue. Delivery is the issue.

Planning is also an issue. It will be a short measure that the Minister is bringing forward but there will be a far more comprehensive measure in terms of a new planning Act which consolidates and codifies the planning laws to streamline the planning process, so we can get housing proposals through faster, to be frank, and so we can build houses more rapidly than we currently are, using the best advanced manufacturing technology in their construction. This will be coming before the House in the next number of weeks.

I do not expect the entire planning Act to be done before Christmas. That will not happen. I accept there will have to be a full discussion but some of the earlier initiatives will be coming before the House and we will want the support of the Deputy's party in that respect so that we can get social housing built faster on publicly owned land, with some affordable as well. The Minister will be using powers to do that. I invite the Deputy to express and articulate her support for measures of that kind.

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