Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It must be hard for the Minister not to understand why, despite all of the evidence that his plan is allegedly working, pretty much everybody else does not accept that is the case. While week after week the Minister dismisses those of us in the Opposition who highlight the lived reality of people unable to access secure and affordable homes, it will be virtually impossible for the Minister to dismiss the views of his own Housing Commission. I suspect that when the report landed on his desk, as it did on 8 May, according to the Taoiseach, the Minister's heart sank because as he delved into the report he realised not only was the commission setting out what needs to be done in the future - much of which is very interesting - it was landing a devastating blow on the failure of his policy and the policy of the Government he previously supported through the confidence and supply arrangement.

Let me summarise and put on the record of the Dáil what the Housing Commission is actually saying. In its overview, it states that housing must be a unique national priority supporting social cohesion and economic development. It says that Ireland has an opportunity to change policy and improve the lives of citizens and residents right across the country. Arising from its wide-ranging inquiry, the Housing Commission has identified that over several decades there have been a range of interventions to do with housing but these interventions have not resolved failures that are fundamentally systemic.

The report states this must be addressed. The commission's work has identified ineffective decision-making and reactive policy-making where risk aversion dominates as core issues. It states these issues, together with external influences impacting housing dynamics, contribute to the volatility in supply, undermining affordability in the housing system. Should these issues persist, there will continue to be insufficient progress on the issues our society faces. The report adds that the problems have arisen due to thefailure to successfully treat housing as a critical social and economic priority, as evident in a lack of consistency in housing policy. It goes on to state that inconsistency undermines confidence.

The commission report states, "as a consequence of policy failures Ireland in comparison with European partners has one of the highest levels of public expenditure on housing but one of the poorest outcomes". It claims there are, however, clear solutions if there is a commitment to address these issues. It goes on to say – this is the real sucker punch for the Minister – that only a radical strategic reset of housing policy will work. A major issue of concern to the commission is Ireland's housing deficit. It believes it is critical that this housing deficit be addressed through emergency action and that there is a need for a step-change increase in the level of housing supply on an ongoing basis. The report also states there should be a targeted increase in the proportion of social and cost-rental housing to 20% of the national stock.

What is really interesting about this report is the significance it attaches to the housing deficit. The Minister knows this because, in the year he produced his housing plan, there were discussions between him and his officials on what would be in it. There was to be an attempt to meet future housing needs arising from population growth and inward migration, but the Minister was told there was a need to deal with pent-up unmet demand in our housing system. However, he refused to allow the ESRI to examine that matter, so its baseline study, which underpinned his own housing targets, did not include the crucial figure in this regard. Despite the fact that it wanted to examine the matter, it was prevented from doing so.

This issue of a housing deficit is not new. The Minister knew about it but refused to include it in his plan. Today, his independent housing commission is reminding him not only that it exists but also that the scale of the deficit is somewhere in the region of 256,000 homes. You really have to scratch your head over the question of what Minister would refuse to allow independent advice to inform his own housing plan.

I am delighted the Minister is going to publish the report. Had it not been leaked to RTÉ, he would not be launching it-----

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