Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We will publish the Housing Commission report today. It is a bit old-fashioned, but it is useful to read things before commenting on them with such authority. Before the Deputy wraps himself in the recommendations of the report, I recommend that he read them. I received the report last night. There are 83 recommendations, 500 actions and subactions, 400 pages of text and three years of work. There is not even unanimous agreement on all of the actions by all of the members of the commission. I am not sure the Deputy will agree with all of the recommendations either, by the way. The idea has been put forward in this House – quite successfully, in fairness to the Opposition – over the past 24 hours that it is a binary choice of whether we accept or reject the commission’s report. I look forward to asking the various Deputies that question next Tuesday. I do not think there is any party in this House that will accept in full every recommendation because there were many members of the commission who did not seem to accept all of the recommendations either. Let us publish the report today, read the report and debate the report.

The Minister for housing should also publish an update on where we are at in respect of each of the 83 recommendations because there is a radical reset of housing policy underway. That is why we have a Land Development Agency. That is why we have record social housing building. It is the largest amount ever in my lifetime and the largest amount in 50 years. That is why we have cost rental schemes. That is why we are seeing 337 new homes going to construction every working day this year. That is why we have had more than 30,000 homes commence construction so far this year as well.

Deputy Boyd Barrett talked about incentivising private developers. The report is very clear. Just to be clear for the Deputy on this matter before he talks about the-----

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