Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

acknowledges that: - Housing for All - A new Housing Plan for Ireland, sets out an ambitious multi-annual programme that seeks to deliver more than 300,000 new homes between 2022 and 2030;

- while the policy aim is to reach, if not exceed, the target in each successive year, the primary goal is to maintain an upward trajectory in supply and in line with or ahead of the overall target over the longer term;

- since Housing for All - A new Housing Plan for Ireland was published in September, 2021, almost 99,500 new homes have been built, with delivery of 92,500 new homes in the three years from 2022 to 2024, representing a considerable 49 percent increase on the quantum delivered in the previous three-year period;

- delivery of affordable housing supports will significantly exceed 2023 outturn, while the supply of new build social homes continues to be at a level higher than it has been for many years; and

- Government measures such as the development levy waiver and water connection refund have been a catalyst for increased construction activity in the last 12 months, establishing a robust medium-term pipeline and supporting significantly accelerated supply of new housing in the coming years; recognises that: - the measures introduced under Housing for All - A new Housing Plan for Ireland, have helped establish a solid platform to 'scale-up' delivery further in the short-term and secure a sustainable level of supply that will help us meet fully unmet and emerging demand over the next decade;

- the Government's revised housing targets, informed by expert, peer-reviewed research by the Economic and Social Research Institute and targeting a minimum of 300,000 or so new homes over the next six years, are an ambitious and credible pathway to achieving these objectives;

- the measures committed to in the Programme for Government, including a new housing plan building on the successes of Housing for All - A new Housing Plan for Ireland, will help us meet the enormous challenge of delivering 60,000 or more new homes per year by 2030; and

- the target of 300,000 new homes is not a ceiling, and the Government will revisit the targets again in 2027 if, reflecting demand and growing industry capacity, different targets are required for 2028 and subsequent years; and affirms the efforts to: - adequately resource the Land Development Agency (LDA) to deliver increased quantum of new homes required, noting the recently increased resourcing to the LDA and will look to capitalise it further as required;

- prioritise infrastructure development as a critical means for increasing housing supply, noting the commitments including, for example, investing additional capital in Uisce Éireann and establishing a new office of strategic housing and infrastructure delivery to coordinate homebuilding and investment in the servicing of zoned lands;

- expand the capacity of the construction sector as another key measure to scale up delivery to the levels necessary by 2030, and thereafter building upon ongoing measures to tackle barriers in construction careers, promote career opportunities, and make construction more attractive to women;

- establish a land price register, which work is committed to in the Programme for Government, and already underway;

- boost homeownership and help support younger people seeking autonomy in the housing market through measures like First Home Scheme, Help-to-Buy scheme, the Local Authority Home Loan, revised social housing income eligibility limits, and the introduction and expansion of the renters credit, as well as the delivery of 130,000 or so new homes over the last five years;

- diversify sources of investment, noting the level of investment required in the long term cannot be solely the responsibility of the State, it will also require a very significant level of private investment, including appropriate institutional capital investment which is essential for the delivery of critically needed private rented stock - engage with domestic lenders to ensure that the banking sector is appropriately using its lending capacity to support the development of new housing nationwide;

- develop new financing sources, especially for brownfield sites and small builders, with support from Home Building Finance Ireland, the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) and domestic banks as well as State support of equity investment;

- enhance protections for tenants, while appropriately vindicating landlords' constitutionally protected property rights, through measures introduced by successive recent Government's via the Residential Tenancies Acts;

- tackle homelessness through a suite of Cross-Government responses, acknowledging that homelessness is a complex issue requiring multifaceted responses to deal with considerably varying causal factors and family circumstances;

- build on the significant number of social and affordable homes provided in 2024, expanding State investment with almost €5 billion available for the delivery of social, affordable and cost rental homes in 2025, supplemented by LDA investment and HFA lending which will bring the overall capital provision to over €6 billion; and

- deliver on the far-ranging commitments in the Programme for Government and informed by the Housing Commission's proposals for the long-term reform of the housing system, accepting this is an appropriate response to the current housing challenges which Ireland is now facing.

The Minister, Deputy Browne, is unavoidably absent as he is at Cabinet. Unfortunately, the Deputies will have to make do with me. I assure all Deputies that the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and I will work together as a team to find housing solutions and increase the supply of housing.

I thank the Labour Party for raising this very important issue. The Deputies expressed severe criticism of my party and the Government. Over the past five years, I have found the Labour Party to be constructive in its opposition and in providing solutions. I acknowledge that. In many areas, although the Deputies may disagree, we have a shared ambition of ending homelessness, reducing rents, increasing the number of affordable homes that are available and increasing housing supply in general. Where we differ is how we achieve those targets. However, we also share some goals and solutions, for example, in terms of devolving power to local authorities. That is already happening on many levels, in that councillors in local authorities have within their remit the ability to supply housing. Single stage assessments are also an area on which we share views but we differ in many other areas.

The motion calls for an end to the help-to-buy scheme, which it describes as inflationary but-----

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