Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----and it shows as well that vacancy rates in Ireland are falling compared with the last time the survey was done and are in line with European norms. There is huge variability from different parts of the country to others, as the Deputy can imagine. Bear in mind the vacant property tax will only apply to habitable homes. It will not apply to those that are not habitable; they are derelict and are covered under different legislation. What ever the correct number is, there are certainly tens of thousands of derelict properties that could be brought back into use and turned into homes for people, and they should be. We have a lot of very good schemes at the moment such as buy and renew; repair and lease and Croí Cónaithe but at the moment, it looks like those schemes are going to bring hundreds of homes back into use every year and it should be thousands. We have to do everything we can to drive that forward and make sure it happens.

A couple of Members asked about the building defects scheme for apartments and duplexes. I cannot remember the exact dates it applies to, I think it is pre-2013, but that was part of the announcement on the day. We will get the legislation done this year. There will be retrospection. It will be up and running in 2024 at 100% but there will be checks and balances. People will not just be able to claim any amount. There will have to be checks and balances, of course, and there will be funding for interim fire safety. I should, as I have done before, declare personal interest in this in that my apartment, which is the only property I own, is in a building that has building defects and therefore I am a potential beneficiary of this scheme once it is up and running.

On the tenant in situscheme which Deputy Bacik asked about, I very much agree that local authorities should purchase homes from landlords who are selling up where the tenant is a social housing tenant. That is done. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is very much behind that. We are encouraging local authorities to do exactly that. I am not sure if we will be able to do monthly figures but perhaps we can do quarterly figures or something along those lines.

On the issue of income thresholds for housing aids that Deputy McAuliffe raised, he makes some very valid points in that regard. As we all know, the cost of getting work done to one's house has gone up a lot and people's incomes have gone up as well. It makes sense to review both the income limits and the amounts people can get. I do not know what the outcome of that review is yet but I imagine the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will make an announcement or bring a proposal to Government as soon as he can.

I met representatives from the Housing Commission a few weeks ago. It is nearing completion on its work on a proposed wording for an amendment on the right to housing for our Constitution. I do not know what that is yet and have not seen it. I look forward to receiving that report and once we have that and the proposed wording, the next step will be to consult with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to see what it thinks of the proposed wording. It is a programme for Government commitment to have a referendum on housing and it is a commitment we intend to honour. It is important we get the wording right because whether you are for or against it, anything put in the Constitution transfers at least a degree of power and decision-making from this place, our elected Parliament, to the courts, whose members are not elected, as we know, but have their role to play. We have to make sure we get the wording right and that there are no unintended consequences. I look forward to seeing that report and it will be very welcome.

On Deputy Murnane O'Connor's question, I fully agree that we need to invest in water and wastewater services. As the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, said earlier, there is over €6 billion now in the budget for Irish Water but it has to prioritise and will generally prioritise infrastructure where it is going to provide water services for a site that can perhaps accommodate hundreds of people, important social infrastructure and important economic infrastructure as well.

On the €1 billion figure mentioned by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, I am not sure that is correct. I think that by the end of the year, that figure was much lower. I cannot remember what it was but it was considerably lower. A decision was made to reallocate the funding from one part of housing to another part but it was spent on housing. When it comes to dealing with the housing crisis, I can assure the House there is no lack of money available to do what needs to be done. There is certainly no lack of political will and no lack of care or compassion on the part of the Government but there are constraints. There is currently a shortage of labour and we are trying to build and renovate new houses, repair old homes and apartments, and build transport and commercial infrastructure. There is just a shortage of labour at the moment. Materials are more expensive and not always available and there are delays around planning permission and servicing sites. There are real constraints which this Government and any Government would face, unfortunately, when it comes to turning the tide on the housing crises which is our objective.

Finally, Deputy Boyd Barrett asked about the eviction pause and that is in place until the end of April. We will have a better idea between now and then as to whether it has been effective in terms of reducing the number of people who are in emergency accommodation and the number of people flowing into homelessness. I am not sure what the Deputy means by a complete eviction ban and if we-----

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