Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This evening, each one of us is being asked to vote confidence in the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. As an Independent Deputy, I try to look at the evidence of how he has performed to date as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I am not interested in the politics or optics or in a call for a general election. That will not build a single house. My only concern is whether the Minister is doing his job. Are we building enough homes for our people? In less than two minutes, I will try to look at context, outcomes and future plans.

Any fair assessment of the Minister's two-and-a-half-year tenure would take into consideration the slowdown in construction due to Covid-19, the escalation in building costs, supply chain challenges and Putin's aggression. Nonetheless, the bottom is that a Minister's job is to deliver regardless.

I looked at some of the figures and outcomes and saw that, for example, the number of planning permissions granted in the 12 months to the end of June 2022 has doubled compared with 2019. Of course, completions are what matter. In the 12 months to the end of September this year, 30% more homes have been built compared with 2019. The Croí Cónaithe and town centre first schemes have real potential for rural areas and the regions. Therefore, there is progress but there is a "but".

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, nailed it when she said that we are building homes but we need to build them faster. That is what I want to see. I want to see real energy and real determination from this Government across all levels of government, from national right down to local, to deliver homes for our people. I want to see a Minister in charge who rapidly and with singular focus implements the 17 pieces of legislation he has brought forward because that is what matters. He has the money and much of the legislation in place. He has a lot of irons in the fire but any good blacksmith is judged by the finished product. We have yet to see that.

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