Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

At the risk of another Elvis moment, I wish the Taoiseach well in our last engagement on Leaders' Questions. I wish him well in whatever his future role may be.

The Taoiseach may wish to indicate at this point in what role he will be returning to the Dáil in the new year. Suspicious minds - Members can see what I did there - are suggesting that it will be in a new role as Minister for Foreign Affairs but the Taoiseach may wish to confirm or deny that on the floor of the Chamber. Elvis has left the building now.

On a serious note, the Taoiseach has been assuring us that his Ministers have been wide awake and not asleep at the wheel. It certainly appears that the officials of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, have been having some sleepless nights rushing through the drafting of the Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2022, which will be rushed through this House through all Stages this week. On 1 December, the Labour Party wrote to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, expressing our concern at the rushed-through nature of this planning law. The Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill is, as we have said, and through our colleague, Senator Moynihan, the latest in a long line of housing, residential and planning Bills that have been sought to be passed into law at the last minute before either a summer or Christmas recess. While we completely support measures which might see the acceleration of delivery of housing, our concern is that this Bill will not see the delivery of homes, which is so badly needed, and will not deliver the much-needed planning reforms. More importantly, it will not expedite the actual delivery of housing.

Last week I raised the fact that there are 28,000 live planning permissions in the Dublin City Council area alone which have not been activated, which had gone through the planning process, but where we are seeing a delay in delivery. These undeveloped sites are fuelling high rates of homelessness, escalating rents and lengthening housing lists with more than 11,000 people now on the housing list. We also see the sort of substandard living conditions I have spoken about in my own constituency, where 27 tenants were recently evicted and were living in what was essentially a firetrap of a building.

Will the Taoiseach, the Government, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, take account of the warnings from its own agency, the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, that there has been hoarding and speculative behaviour in which developers and investors are acquiring planning permissions to hold as an asset and engaging in what we have seen described as land banking or land hoarding. This is a key issue and obstacle to the actual delivery of homes across cities and towns across this country. We have seen this concern raised not only by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service but also by the ESRI in a report stating that State intervention is now needed to end land speculation and land hoarding and to see a speeded-up delivery of housing.

In particular, we in the Labour Party introduced a Bill to enact the Kenny report, a report which if enacted - this report will be 50 years old next year - would have done a great deal to ensure an end to land hoarding. Will the Taoiseach speed up and see to the passage of our Kenny report Bill.

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