Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has a huge task ahead of him and I wish him the best of luck in his role. I urge everyone from all sides of this House to work together as we see in the committees. We are here for one reason, which is to work for the Irish people. As a newly elected TD, it is ridiculous what have seen in here for the last few months.

There is something clearly wrong with regulations where developers can pay adjoining residents considerable sums to not make objections. A recent article by the Irish Independent said that planning for 20,000 homes will expire in the next two years. I urge the Government to look at this. The permissions are set to expire over the coming two years even though the demand for homes is dramatically exceeding supply. This is according to a new report from the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland. Its recent housing market monitor said that 75,000 homes can be completed in 2025 and 2026 but this is well below the targets the report says are needed.

This is the key issue this House will be defined by when we go knocking on doors in five years' time. We need to have a Covid-level response. Tick every single box, try things and be bold. I really urge the Minister and my colleagues in government to do that because we need to get that done. I really appreciate the Minister listening, and I urge him to read to the motion.

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