Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party) | Oireachtas source

We are years talking in the Dáil about housing. I listened to the Fianna Fáil Deputy who spoke previously and I have to agree with him. Regarding Ukrainians and others, we have been promising that all sorts of construction can be done and all sorts of structures can be built but we cannot do anything for our own selves. That is something we need to do very soon. I hope the Minister will look at housing in a different light to his predecessors because they made no movement on housing. It is worse things have got, and it looks like the Government is going to be 13,000 short of its target by 2027, from what I can read in the newspapers today. It does not need to be.

The first thing - I raised this with the Taoiseach today - is rural planning and rural planning guidelines. They are 100% against the person who is applying for the planning - the mother, the father, the young person or couple who are trying to get off the ground. They need the Minister's help, and I hope he is listening to me because this is hugely important to these people. They come into my clinics - maybe seven, eight, nine or ten of them - every week looking for planning. They are being refused planning. I often say to them that it is like the train is gone from the station when they come to me, so they should please come to me before they go on the train. We might then be able to do something for them if they get refused.

It is simplistic, silly stuff they are getting refused on. I do not actually blame the planners for this. I blame the rural planning guidelines, which are built to make sure that young people will not get fair and honest planning on their own lands and farms. That is unjustified and cannot continue.

I could spend ages talking about Dunmanway, Shannonvale, Ballydehob and Goleen as regards wastewater treatment plants, but I am not going to now because we might have a speech later on about housing. However, we need to concentrate on situations where Uisce Éireann has not delivered on wastewater treatment plants. The Minister needs to appear before the Dáil. For five weeks, I have been looking at the Business Committee for the Minister to appear before the Dáil to speak on wastewater treatment plants, but it has not happened as of yet.

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