James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House for the debate on the report of the Housing Commission and the views put forward throughout it. I once again express my appreciation to the commission members for their time, effort and commitment. It is clear from the views expressed during the debate that there is much we agree upon about where we must get to. That said, it is unsurprising that we are not all agreed, given the deep-rooted nature of the challenges that we have and the breadth and complexity of measures proposed by the commission to deal with them. Many Deputies have contributed over the two days of the debate. Regrettably, I cannot respond to every point raised in the short time available to me this afternoon, so I will confine my remarks to some of the more substantive points touched on by Deputies before bringing the debate to an end.

The commission's observation that Ireland has poor outcomes among European peers, given our level of expenditure on housing, has been raised on multiple occasions since the report was published and again during the debate. It is easy for the point to be misconstrued, and the commission has indeed clarified it on a number of occasions since. Its core criticism is about the failure to retain and recycle the funding invested in the social housing system. While this money is not wasted, as it is invested in other local authority services, the proposals of the commission around greater ring-fencing of public housing money could improve the sustainability of the system. The viability and possible impacts of these proposals are being actively scoped by my Department.

The supply needed to meet emerging and unmet demand has received considerable attention since the commission's report. This was referred to during the debate. Understanding of the scale of the challenge ahead is critical to dealing with the challenge. To this end, the Government welcomes the work of the commission in this area, which estimates unmet demand to be at up to 256,000 homes. However, it is important to understand that it is inherently difficult to estimate a quantity, given the range of underpinning assumptions required. The residential development and construction industries were almost annihilated in the wake of 2008. Recovering the sector remains a work in progress and there is clearly a need to significantly scale up capacity across the construction industry in the coming years.

Against this backdrop, the Government's revised target of 300,000 new homes by 2030 is both ambitious and credible. The crucial issue is ultimately that delivery meets demand. On that principle, we will adopt the same agile approach we have taken with Housing for All and revisit the targets in 2027 if, reflecting the demand and growing industry capacity, we need different targets from 2028.

The commission also recommends increasing the proportion of social and cost rental stock to 20% of the total national housing stock. I understand there were some reservations about recommending an exact proportion. I agree fully with the commission that the proportion of social and cost-rental housing needs to increase relative to the overall stock. In this regard, I believe the proportion of social and cost-rental housing needed is ultimately one that allows the demand for such housing to be fully met at any given time, whether that is 18%, 20% or 22%. We are still some way from achieving this goal but we are continuing year-on-year to expand our stock of public housing.

Housing for All set ambitious targets in this regard, with approximately one third of targeted delivery being social and cost-rental housing. The revised local authority and tenure-specific targets are still to be finalised but we would expect the proportion of targeted social and cost rental to be similar when they are agreed. Over time, achieving such levels of delivery will drive up the stock of social and cost rental to the levels proposed by the Housing Commission.

The role of private finance in funding the development of new homes and the link with the ongoing review of the operation of rent pressure zones were also raised during the debate. Delivering 50,000 homes on average per year up to 2030 will require an estimated €20 billion in development finance each year. It is an unassailable fact that a large proportion of this must come from international sources. Without attracting the supply of appropriate private finance to complement the State’s unprecedented level of investment in housing, we risk exacerbating supply and affordability challenges, particularly in the private rental sector. I understand that the public debate, much of which has been mischaracterised, may have worried many, particularly renters. I am committed to implementing a regulatory model that secures a fair balance between the interests of tenants and landlords. I firmly believe we can protect renters and attract sustainable long-term investment and finance to finance new homes for rent at the same time. The two aims are not mutually exclusive.

I understand the frustration expressed by several Deputies with the planning system and the timelines for delivering housing-related infrastructure. We have embarked on a significant programme of reform in this area in recent years. A cornerstone of these reforms, the Planning and Development Act 2024, will be commenced on a phased basis as soon as practicable. I also expect the revisions to the national planning framework to be agreed shortly by the Government and thereafter by both Houses of the Oireachtas. I would also like to re-emphasise that the proposed new strategic housing activation office will bring a critical focus to the provision of enabling infrastructure for public and private housing development while addressing unnecessary infrastructure delays and blockages. Its focus draws heavily on the commission’s recommendation for a housing delivery oversight executive. While its function may not be exactly the same as the commission envisaged on day one, the approach being taken allows us to get the office up and running quickly and begin working towards the underlying objective.

Homelessness remains a key challenge for the Government and addressing homelessness underpins many of our efforts and ambitions. Striving to achieve our housing targets through all possible avenues, increasing the supply of social and cost-rental housing and addressing supply shortages in the private rental sector are all ultimately concerned with reducing and eliminating the risk of homelessness. The programme for Government reaffirms our commitment to the Lisbon declaration on working towards ending homelessness by 2030. We have set out a range of specific commitments to support this objective. We are closely aligned with the Housing Commission in recognising homelessness as a top priority and in our approach to addressing this challenge.

I once again thank all Deputies who contributed to the debate. I will consider all that has been said as I prepare, first, for the engagement with the Minister, Deputy Jack Chambers, over the coming months as part of the review of the national development plan and, second, for the development of the Government's new housing plan, which will follow. As I have said, I am focused on addressing the immediate challenge of boosting housing supply through all the means at our disposal while also supporting the policies and structures needed to enable the supply of homes that the country needs in the long term. The programme for Government contains dozens of commitments that draw directly from or are influenced by the commission's work. I expect there will be further opportunities to consider other ideas for implementation, most notably the Government’s new whole-of-government housing plan.

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