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

I thank the Deputy. Undoubtedly, the first-time buyer supports are helping. I meet people across the country and in my constituency who say they are working. This Government is committed to retaining them when others want to abolish them.

Importantly, with regard to the outlook for this year, we have seen an increase in construction costs. We had to address that. The plan had to be flexible. That is why we brought in the waiver of the development levy and the Uisce Éireann connection charge refund - to reduce the cost per unit on average between €50,000 and €20,000, depending on whether the property is a house or an apartment. That has led to that increase in commencements.

There is no plan comparable to Housing for All, and it is fully funded. That is the thing that has been really important because it gives the local authorities, the AHBs and all stakeholders, including the private sector, the certainty that the money is there. Others said they would produce a plan over a year ago but have not done so. We still have not seen that.

I was in Brussels last week for a meeting of EPOCH. Let us compare construction across our EU partners. This is important to see where we are going.

There are very serious housing issues in all EU countries. We are the only country out of 19 in which construction grew last year. This year it is projected to grow more than 4.4%, according to the Euroconstruct report. One of the reasons for that, which was put very clearly in this independent report, is State investment. It is the State leading by example with that €5 billion investment. Yes, we do need private investment, too, because to deliver the homes we need, we probably need between €13 billion and €14 billion per annum. As our population increases, we will need more. That is why we need a sustainable construction sector that is delivering really good quality homes for people.

With regard to the targets, work is being done by the ESRI on population growth. Thankfully, our population is growing substantially now, so that has to be assessed as well. We will basically assess the ESRI data and the work that is being done by the Housing Commission. In quarter 2 of this year, I expect that we will come forward with the revised targets for the next number of years to 2030.

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