Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----and he voted against the standing up of the agency. We have a national cost rental scheme now in place, which was underpinned by the Affordable Housing Act. The Deputy voted against the Affordable Housing Act that does not just give cost rental housing and a national cost rental scheme, which we wish to scale up even further, and we will do. We will have more cost rental tenancies this year than we had last year. It also includes things that Deputy Bríd Smith mentioned, such as the first home scheme. That is more than 1,000 approvals issued to real families and people, many of whom are caught in a rental trap, who are now able to buy their new home, a safe and secure home for them at an affordable rate, not a second mortgage, as some have said. This is equity by the State, that is, real help and assistance underpinned by the Affordable Housing Act that the Deputy opposed and voted against. That is fine. It is his right to do so, but when he complains about lack of affordability where we are making progress, he should also state he has opposed the measures that have been brought forward.

We have brought forward the Croí Cónaithe vacancy grants. There have been more than 1,000 applications so far to help people buy properties and bring them into use. There has been incredible interest in the scheme. Many of those taking those vacant homes back into use throughout towns, villages, cities and rural areas are people who have been renting and now have a safe and secure home.

With regard to public housing stock, since 2022, we have brought more than 8,500 vacant social homes back into use. We have brought in a proper management system to manage our local authority stock better and specifically focus on our seniors, which is very important because there had been a lack of appropriate housing delivery for seniors, especially in social housing, and on those who are above the social housing thresholds. As the Deputy will know, I significantly increased the social housing thresholds just this year. That was the first significant change in social housing income limits since 2011. We have also done that.

With regard to emergency planning and being able to deliver new social and affordable homes on State-owned or council-owned land that is already zoned to deliver it and speed up that process, we have removed the debt on those sites and brought in emergency planning powers. We brought a Bill into this House. Deputies Boyd Barrett, Smith and their colleagues will know how the voted on it. They opposed that as well. On the one side, the Deputies say they want extra supply and when we bring forward measures to do it, they vote against them. They want affordable housing, but they vote against it.

What I will say is there certainly is an issue, which I have discussed with Deputy Boyd Barrett directly, with regard to people who are above the social housing limits whose landlords are selling. I am looking at measures, working through that and looking at what could be brought forward. The State cannot buy every property either. There have to be criteria within it. I think the Deputy understands that.

See this speech in context