Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Then, take actions. That is a good idea too, Deputy Collins. Does the Deputy know what the Government will do this week? It will publish the report. What the Opposition might do is read the report. Then, we might come into this Chamber and debate the report to see how we can actually make more progress. This Government is making progress when it comes to housing supply and homeownership. This Government is putting in place plans, schemes and incentives that are helping hundreds of couples every single week to buy their first home. All Deputies see new homes being built in their constituencies. The Government also knows it is not just about the here and now, however. We have to look at when we get to 2050. Long before any reports in any media today, as Deputy Collins well knows, it was always the Government's intention to review the housing targets. The next half of this decade is not about plodding along. It is about a step change and raising the bar in terms of the amount of supply we can deliver every single year. We were always reviewing the housing targets in light of the census. The review is advanced. As the Deputy knows, the intention, which is informed by independent peer-reviewed research by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, is to publish revised targets for the years ahead later this year and then work with people right across this House to make progress because that is what we need to do. Therefore, let us actually read the report with more than 400 pages, look at the 83 recommendations and 500 actions and then make a decision.

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