Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank Deputy Doherty. Housing is the biggest domestic challenge that this country faces and the people in this country face. It is the biggest societal challenge on a domestic level and it is now a real economic challenge as well.

We have to do more when it comes to housing. We, the parties that formed the Government and the Independents who support it, were very clear that if returned to office, we would work to increase the scale of housing delivery. The Deputy's party put forward its plans as well, which I do not think convinced many.

Deputy Doherty talks about record surpluses, and I am glad he does, but he just kind of brushes over them as though they happened by accident. The reason we are in a position that we have record surpluses, the reason we are going to be able to spend a hell of a lot more money on water, energy, housing and putting in place the services people need, is because of the way we have managed the economy of this country, working with the Irish people, over the past number of years. These things do not happen by accident.

There has been, objectively and factually, a significant increase in the progress of the delivery of housing in recent years. We have seen more than 133,000 new-build homes delivered between 2020 and 2024. A total of 92,500 of those homes were delivered just between 2022 and 2024, which is up nearly 50% on the previous three years. It is objectively true that we saw a significant uplift in housing. It is also true that it is not enough, and it is also true that it has somewhat stalled or reached a plateau. Therefore, we now have to look at what we can do to take it to the next level and be able to achieve the ambition we have of 300,000 more homes being delivered in this country by 2030.

We are very clear in regard to what we need to do, and many of the issues the Deputy highlighted are key parts of that jigsaw. We need planning reform, making sure, and we would appreciate the Deputy's party's assistance on this, that people do not keep objecting to the delivery of housing in their communities, saying they are in favour of houses here but against them in their own communities. We need to resource An Bord Pleanála-----

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