John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

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

"acknowledges that:

— population growth in recent years has been higher than anticipated, bringing a requirement for enhanced infrastructure and services, and the annual increase in population of 1.3 per cent, between Census 2016 and 2022, has exceeded the forecast increase of 0.8 per cent that underpinned the National Planning Framework in 2018;

— high population growth has been a driver of strong economic growth, and there are now a record number of people at work in Ireland, and this population requires housing and supporting infrastructure; and

— there has also been a growth in energy demand and in the energy intensity required for modern manufacturing and large-scale servers, due to the requirements of modern technology; 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 of housing in the short-term, and secure a sustainable level of supply that will help us meet fully unmet and emerging housing demand;

— the measures committed to in the Programme for Government, including a new housing plan building on the successes of Housing for All, will help us meet the enormous challenge of delivering more than 300,000 new homes by 2030;

— a record level of investment is being provided for the delivery of housing in 2025, with overall capital funding now available of almost €6.8 billion;

— the Government's new national housing plan will incorporate pragmatic actions to boost housing activity in the short-term, coupled with strategic deliverables to drive comprehensive systemic change and subsequent increase in supply into the long-term;

— there have been record levels of investment in infrastructure under the current National Development Plan for the period 2021 to 2031;

— Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery for water services and infrastructure, from €300 million in 2014, to roughly €1.3 billion in 2024, and for 2025, the Exchequer will provide just over €2.2 billion in funding to Uisce Éireann;

— our water networks will require ongoing and sustained investment to bring these up to the required standard of treatment, to deal with population and housing growth, and to adapt to the impacts of climate change;

— the Programme for Government commits to investing additional capital in Uisce Éireann, and this is being considered in the context of the ongoing review of the National Development Plan;

— Ireland is currently experiencing high demand for new electrical connections driven by population growth, industrial development and accelerated electrification targets;

— over the last four years, ESB Networks has connected over 147,000 homes and businesses to the distribution network;

— in response to increased demand, the electricity system operators, ESB Networks and EirGrid, have prepared business plans that propose significantly increased investment in the electricity grid for the period 2026-2030, and the Government looks forward to the conclusion of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities Price Review Six strategy, which will provide a clear framework for investment in the electricity grid;

— the Government has established a new Infrastructure Division, that will lead infrastructure reform, overseen by the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce;

— the Government has established a new Housing Activation Office (HAO), to identify and seek to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development, through the alignment of funding and coordination of infrastructure providers;

— the HAO will engage and align stakeholders, including local authorities, utility and infrastructure providers, industry and others, to ensure that infrastructure blockages are addressed in a coordinated way in order to enable housing development, and it will focus on infrastructure needed at a local or district level to support housing delivery on multiple sites, including social and community infrastructure needed to support the development of sustainable communities;

— legislative and system level reform of the planning system is progressing;

— the Government is prioritising the commencement of the Planning and Development Act 2024, on a phased basis, and the Act represents the most comprehensive review of planning legislation since 2000, and will reform and streamline the planning process, and support timely decision making for housing and strategic infrastructure projects;

— the Government is committed to improving the capacity and performance of the planning system, through the implementation of the Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources, approved in 2024; and

— on 30th April, 2025, Dáil Éireann approved the Revised National Planning Framework, and this provides the basis for the review and updating of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019-2031, and local authority development plans to reflect critical matters such as updated housing figures or projected jobs growth, including through the zoning of land for residential, employment and a range of other purposes; and affirms Government efforts to: — prioritise infrastructure development as a critical means for increasing housing supply, noting the Government's commitments in the Programme for Government including, for example, the commitment to invest in water and energy infrastructure under the National Development Plan;

— resource a new HAO, to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development;

— expand the capacity of the construction sector as another key measure to scale up housing and critical infrastructure delivery to the levels necessary by 2030;

— 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; and

— deliver on the commitments in the Programme for Government relating to implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024, the Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources and implementation of the Revised National Planning Framework.".

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Government's countermotion to outline the progress that has been made to date by this and the previous Government's Housing for All plan. I will set out what we are doing to build on that plan, and our ongoing commitments to meet the significant housing and critical infrastructure challenges facing us as a nation.

As all of us in this Chamber know, housing is a cross-sectoral societal challenge that has a real impact on people's lives. I reassert this Government's commitment to addressing the housing crisis by implementing Housing for All and the suite of measures outlined in the programme for Government, which will form the basis of the updated plan later this summer. We do not underestimate the scale of the challenge, which is why we are considering every possible lever at our disposal. However, it is important to acknowledge that we are not starting from scratch. We are building on progress already made on housing delivery and providing the critical infrastructure needed to support that housing delivery. In this regard, Housing for All sets out a comprehensive and ambitious multi-annual programme to accelerate and significantly increase the delivery of new homes. This ambition is reflected in the record level of investment that has been provided for the delivery of housing in 2025, with overall capital funding of almost €6.8 billion now available and a further €1.65 billion in current funding available to address housing need.

While much still needs to be done, the step-change in delivery in recent years has helped many households achieve autonomy in the housing market. More than 133,000 houses have been delivered since 2020. Some 500 first-time buyers are purchasing their first home every week, many with the support of Government schemes such as the help to buy scheme, which has supported more than 50,000 homeowners since its introduction, and the first homes scheme, which has 6,774 approvals and has enabled more than 3,000 first-time buyers to purchase homes. It should be said that these are two schemes that Sinn Féin opposes and wants to abolish. Contrast that to the Cabinet approval today of a further €30 million in Exchequer funding for the extension of the first homes scheme for another two years to facilitate the purchase of approximately 1,200 more affordable homes.

While scaling up capacity to deliver 300,000 new homes by 2030 will be an enormous challenge, it can be facilitated through appropriate Government support to increase the capacity of critical infrastructure and the construction sector in the coming years. Much of the foundation from which to build has been laid, but it will take a laser-sharp focus on all levers available to the State to facilitate this growth. One such lever is in the area of infrastructure development. The Government has already established a new infrastructure division within the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

The motion refers to the Housing Commission's proposal for a housing delivery oversight executive. Having had regard to the recommendation of the Housing Commission, the Government has established a new housing activation office to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development. This office will identify and seek to address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects, be they roads, drainage, power, water or whatever else is needed to ensure that development happens. The office has been established on a non-statutory basis in the first instance as this was the quickest route to its establishment. It will work through collaboration, dedicated funding under the new towns and cities investment fund and with the support of all of government. The Minister will appoint a head of office in due course, but for now we have commenced staffing it with the appropriate experts from planning and intend to bring in seconded experts from other utility sectors and local authorities who will together inform what is needed on the ground to ensure all the various providers are strategically aligned at a national level and synchronised at a local level.

Specifically with regard to improvements to our public water and wastewater services, we are delivering a sustainable funding path to Uisce Éireann to deliver for current and future growth. There have been record levels of Government funding in water services and investment by Uisce Éireann over the past decade. Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery for water services and infrastructure from €300 million in 2014 to roughly €1.3 billion in 2024. For 2025, the Exchequer will provide slightly more than €2.2 billion in funding to Uisce Éireann. The programme for Government also commits to investing additional capital investment in Uisce Éireann to support housing development in our cities, towns and villages. This is being considered in the context of the national development plan review, which will be completed in the coming months.

In response to increased demand on the electricity system, the operators - ESB Networks and EirGrid - have prepared business plans that propose significantly increased investment in the electricity grid for the period 2026 to 2030. The Government is awaiting the conclusion of the sixth price review by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. This will provide a clear framework for investment in the electricity grid, which the Government is committed to supporting. The enactment of the Planning and Development Act in October 2024 updates and streamlines the planning system to provide clarity, consistency and certainty. Commencement of the Act is a key priority for the Minister, Deputy Browne, and me.

The motion further calls for resourcing of our planning system to ensure timely decisions are made on applications for the delivery of critical infrastructure and new housing. It is for this reason that the ministerial action plan on planning resources was approved last year. Approval of 101 posts issued in October 2023 and in January this year a further approval issued for 112 posts, consisting of 56 graduate planner posts and 56 staff officer posts, to support the planning function within local authorities. An Bord Pleanála has also had its sanctioned staff increased to 313 from around 160 in 2022. This has assisted with tackling the backlog in the organisation and sets it up to meet its statutory timelines under the new Planning and Development Act. The revised national planning framework also provides a basis for the review and updating of regional, spatial and economic strategies and local authority development plans to reflect critical matters such as updated housing figures and projected jobs growth, including through the zoning of land for residential employment and a range of other purposes.

This Government is dedicated to ensuring the continued success of Housing for All and implementing the far-ranging commitments of the programme for Government. In its countermotion the Government highlights the substantial progress made to date, and how we will continue to build on this progress because nobody is saying that what we are currently doing is enough. Of course, we need to do more, and we will utilise every lever at our disposal, as I have outlined, to ensure we increase the delivery of the necessary critical infrastructure to increase housing supply, address affordability challenges and provide sufficient housing options for all cohorts of our society.

See this speech in context