James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I very much welcome this opportunity to come before the House to discuss the Government’s new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The development of this new housing plan was a commitment under the programme for Government. It reaffirms that housing is the number one priority for all arms of government, including local government, and expects that all people and organisations, whether public or private, will play their part in tackling the challenges we face in increasing housing supply and reducing homelessness. The Government is entirely focused on building 300,000 new homes. By the end of 2030, there will be 72,000 additional new build social homes built for those in our society that need them most. Our goal remains a housing system that truly serves the needs of our people. That is why we are committed to also providing 90,000 affordable housing supports. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is ambitious - of that there is no doubt - but the Government is fully committed to making it a reality.

Delivering Homes, Building Communities also builds on the achievement under Housing for All with over 137,000 new homes built, 44,000 social homes and nearly 16,900 affordable housing supports provided, with 4,500 of these being cost-rental homes, a tenure type that did not exist just five years ago. This gives the Government a strong platform to scale up housing delivery and under Delivering Homes, Building Communities, we are focused on delivery. This will not be easy and there is no one single solution that will solve the housing challenges we face. That is why Delivering Homes, Building Communities takes pragmatic action across a number of different policy areas to boost housing supply while ensuring that the new homes delivered support people who need them the most. These two key objectives provide the foundational pillars in the plan: activating supply and support people. The first pillar, activating supply, is about removing structural barriers to homebuilding and ensuring we deliver 300,000 new homes in the lifetime of this plan. This includes measures aimed at unlocking land, reforming planning, delivering infrastructure and creating the conditions needed to increase investment in housing supply.

Delivering Homes, Building Communities is enabled by the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State. A total of €275 billion will be invested over the next ten years under the national development plan, to significantly upgrade our infrastructure and make the environment for building homes much better. This cannot be overstated. This includes almost €20 billion to support the delivery of 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable home supports over the next five years. It also includes €12.2 billion for water and wastewater services and €3.5 billion in equity funding for ESB Networks and EirGrid to make sure that we have the capacity in these vital services to make housing connections as and when they are needed. The Uisce Éireann investment is particularly significant. Of the €12.2 billion funding provided, 95% of it will be used to support the delivery of a wide range of projects in cities and regions to ensure the delivery of the additional water services capacity required for new housing. Investment in transport will also be critical to unlocking housing. Up to €3.5 billion will be invested in transport projects, which will support the delivery of tens of thousands of homes across the five cities. We have also introduced a €1 billion infrastructure investment fund, which will help to de-risk the development of sites in towns and cities across the country. This will be managed and deployed by the housing activation office.

A key change element of Delivering Homes, Building Communities is the emphasis it places on creating the environment needed for the building of more homes. One vital part of this is creating the right conditions to attract inward investment in housing development, particularly in building apartments. Delivering Homes, Building Communities details a suite of complementary measures to do just this. They will result in the development of thousands of new apartments. The measures include: the changes announced to rent pressure zones, RPZs, to attract private investment back into the rental sector; the new planning design standards for apartments; a reduction in the VAT rate to 9% from 13.5%; an enhanced corporation tax deduction; and an exemption from corporation tax for cost-rental homes. The cumulative impact of these could result in a reduction of up to €160,000 in the cost of delivery to apartments. This is a significant amount of cost savings per unit, and it has the potential to unlock thousands of apartments that were not viable just six months ago. Another such measure is the establishment of the housing activation office. The office is now up and running. The team has met with all local authorities and industry and is actively developing a programme of investment to get more homes built. The office will identify and address barriers to the delivery of public infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development, through the alignment of funding and co-ordination of infrastructure providers.

To deliver more homes at speed, the State will indeed do more, but this plan will also empower others, particularly the private sector, to play their part. We can all agree that an effective planning system remains a critical piece of the solution. Delivering Homes, Building Communities is not only tackling the barriers in the planning system, but also those in the legal system, regulation and procurement. We will free-up the private sector to provide homes at much greater scale by providing more zoned and serviced land for housing right across the country. The full implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024 will be another game-changer for the wider housing system. It will provide certainty to all practitioners but particularly developers. Having set timelines for decisions allows developers to better manage projects. This, in turn, will have positive impacts on the cost of housing development.

The Government is also committed to creating the best possible conditions for the industry to build and to activate more homes. We have not waited until the publication of this plan to get on with the work. Since coming to office, the Government has delivered a revised national planning framework, NPF, enabling the zoning of significantly more land. We have introduced reform of RPZs and revised apartment standards, both of which will make apartment building more viable. Working across government, Delivering Homes, Building Communities also involves measures to boost construction capacity and skills. The scale, quality, speed, efficiency and sustainability of the construction industry must be at the highest levels to meet national housing projections. Increasing skills and enabling wider adoption of modern methods of construction, MMC, is a critical aspect to achieve this and support the delivery of high-quality housing with reduced delivery times and reduced costs. In addition, while housing need is so critical, addressing vacancy and dereliction remains a key priority of the Government under Delivering Homes, Building Communities. The plan commits to bringing homes back into use through the vacant property refurbishment grant and the introduction of a new derelict sites tax, administered and collected by the Revenue Commissioners.

As I have outlined, the Government will lead with record investment and strong direction, but success also depends on local authorities, the Land Development Agency, LDA, approved housing bodies, AHBs, and the private sector playing their part. The LDA has been further capitalised by €2.5 billion. This will support a significantly expanded role. In addition to over 2,000 homes already delivered, the agency is working on a pipeline of a further 27,000 new homes on over 40 sites. Local authorities will be supported as well. A number of measures detailed in the plan will ensure the delivery of record levels of social homes and affordable housing supports by local authorities. A new single stage approval process for all social housing projects under €200 million will support them to increase and accelerate the delivery of new homes. The Government will also support and fully fund local authorities to establish ring-fenced new build teams that are fully focused on delivering new social and affordable homes. This will ensure there is additional dedicated housing expertise in every local authority. These teams will be solely focused on the delivery of new homes. They will be afforded the opportunity to develop own build projects, problem solving as they go while developing a strong pipeline of future social and affordable homes. They will be recognised for over-performance to incentivise delivery of the 72,000 new social homes by 2030. We will also put in place measurements and publish data to illustrate how everybody contributes.

Every part of society has a role to play. The housing crisis affects us all and solving it will need everyone to act together. Affordable housing bodies also play an invaluable role in housing delivery that complements local authority social and affordable home delivery, helping to address acute housing needs, including for many of our most vulnerable citizens. They have been responsible for approximately 50% of all social and affordable delivery over the past four years. The Government is committed to strengthening capacity and specialism in the AHB sector to increase delivery. This will include, among other things, supporting a restructuring and consolidation of the sector, addressing legacy impediments and providing greater clarity of the required social and affordable housing delivery by AHBs through local authority housing delivery action plans.

The second pillar, supporting people, is aimed at supporting people to get a home. It is focused on tackling homelessness, protecting children and families, increasing social and affordable housing output and strengthening protections for those renting. It supports homeownership - giving new buyers a chance to put down roots, while revitalising villages, towns and cities.

I am acutely aware of the profound impact homelessness has on individuals, particularly children, and addressing homelessness is a key priority under Delivering Homes, Building Communities. This includes measures to prevent homelessness, support people experiencing homelessness and support people to exit homelessness.

As part of this plan I felt it was essential to reaffirm my, and the Government’s, commitment to the Lisbon declaration and working towards ending homelessness by 2030. I will also continue to work with the national homeless action committee to ensure a whole-of-government approach is taken in everything we do to address homelessness. The single biggest intervention we can make as a Government is to deliver increased levels of social homes. An additional 72,000 social homes will make a big difference. We will also work with each local authority to examine how the allocations of these new social homes will best address the needs of households experiencing homelessness and, in particular, families with children. On top of this, Delivering Homes, Building Communities includes a number of additional measures that the Government will take to address homelessness, including the provision of an extra €100 million capital funding in 2026 to support the exit of families longest in emergency accommodation. This is in addition to the €50 million already announced for 2025. We will also develop a child and family homelessness action plan and a whole-of-government homelessness prevention framework. Both will allow for a co-ordinated approach to addressing the root causes of homelessness.

I also want to detail some of the action the Government is taking to support our ageing population. Providing housing for older people is very important to this Government. We will develop an action plan to increase the delivery of housing for older people. The action plan will focus on increasing the delivery of social homes for older people, increasing delivery of more suitable homes for older people in private housing and will increase choice for those who wish to rightsize.

This plan is focused on supporting people to get a home and the Government has committed to record levels of direct funding for housing to support this. In 2026 alone, over €9 billion capital funding will be provided through the Exchequer, LDA and Housing Finance Agency. This funding is targeting never before seen levels of social homes and affordable supports. An average of 12,000 new build social homes and 15,000 affordable home supports each year to 2030. This will provide real homes and supports for individuals and families right across the country who are currently struggling to secure a home of their own. We will also continue to work with our stakeholders to revise, expand and improve the range of affordability supports in place for home ownership and cost rental. This will be done within the context of investing in our towns, villages and cities recognising the importance of community in people’s daily lives.

Through the implementation of Housing for All, we have learned that there is no single solution to the challenges we face. The answer lies in a suite of complementary actions across a broad number of areas. Delivering Homes, Building Communities provides a clear roadmap for the action that now needs to be taken. The state will continue to play a critical role, investing unprecedented levels of public money in the delivery of housing. We will continue to consider every lever at our disposal to increase supply. We remain steadfast in our commitment to meet the challenges head on and ensure all those aspiring own their own home will be able to realise their aspiration.

I look forward to hearing Members’ views and perspectives on these vital matters.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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The definition of "madness" is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result and that is exactly what the Minister is doing with this so-called plan. It is not a new plan and anybody with a shred of honesty who has read it would say that plainly. It is the same old failed policies repackaged, rebranded and re-presented one more time but this time with far less feeling. In fact, the only changes in this document from those of the Minister’s predecessors are the reintroduction of policies from a previous plan that failed back then and without doubt are going to fail now.

Let me run through some of the problems. The first and most fundamental is once again the Government is underestimating overall housing need. It is ignoring the Housing Commission’s estimation of the housing deficit, the amount of homes that are needed to meet housing demand right now, by a factor of about 20%. That is why the Department of Finance has said that even if the Government meets these targets, the housing crisis will continue for another decade and a half. Within that, the Government is chronically under-providing new social homes by a factor of about 30%. We need more than 90,000 new-build social homes over the next six years but we also need far more funding for the regeneration and improvement of existing social homes and a far more ambitious programme of social housing acquisitions. None of that is in this plan. Despite the Minister’s commitment to working towards ending long-term homelessness by 2030 – I always thought the Lisbon declaration was to end long-term homelessness by 2030 – there is not a single new measure in this plan across its 100 pages to prevent homelessness or accelerate people’s exits from homelessness.

Every time I hear the Minister, who normally is very cautious in his choice of language, talk about waging a war on dereliction, I am quite embarrassed for him because there is no urgency in tackling vacancy and dereliction in this plan. Transferring responsibility for the derelict sites levy to Revenue, which may collect it by 2027 is not a war; it is a snail’s crawl in tackling one of the most urgent and pressing issues of our time. Crucially, for all the Minister’s talk about private sector supply, new measures for the small and medium-sized builder-developer sector to build good-quality homes for working people to buy in every county are entirely absent from the plan. The only changes the Minister is proposing are the changes well announced to the private rental sector – reintroducing inferior design standards for apartments to make them smaller and darker; a €640 million tax break to apartment developers where the apartments are viable, being built and, in most cases, already have buyers; and legislation trundling its way through pre-legislative scrutiny of which the primary, if not sole purpose, is to jack up rip-off rents even higher from next March. Yesterday during pre-legislative scrutiny, the Bill was described by one stakeholder as "a jungle of confusion". I could not have found better words. It contains three new rules for rent setting and three new rules for security of tenure, and the only thing we are sure of is not increased supply, but ever greater rip-off rents and confusing and unenforceable tenure changes.

Of course the Minister knows it does not have to be this way. His party leader - sometimes I think the man who is actually in charge of housing - the Taoiseach stood in this Dáil only a week ago and complained about the Opposition and said that we had no alternative and no detailed plans. He must have missed the Government’s own Housing Commission report with over 200 pages of detailed recommendations being thrown in the bin and ignored by the Minister and his predecessor. The Opposition, including ourselves with a fully costed housing plan, over and over again has set out exactly how it can be done. Unless there is greater State intervention and the right kind of private sector supply to meet the needs of buyers, we are not going to get to a situation where all of those people who have been failed by the Government’s housing policies get access to secure, adequate and affordable homes. As long as that is the case, we will continue to campaign, to highlight and to critique but crucially to set out the alternatives because the only thing that is certain is this: this plan will come and go like Deputy Darragh O’Brien’s, Eoghan Murphy’s and Simon Coveney’s before it. It will fail and the losers will be people in need of affordable housing. On that basis, we will continue to oppose the plan because it is part of the problem and not part of the solution.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister does not understand the damage that he does and that Governments have done when they announce a new housing plan. It takes a year to deliver but what a Minister does when he announces a new housing plan is create hope. People are so desperate for housing they would do anything. They look at their Government as they wait for its plan. It has caused devastation to ordinary people because this plan is only a rehash of what we have seen before. There is nothing in here that will solve the housing crisis. There is nothing in here that will solve the homelessness crisis. I take no glee in that. I am actually gutted that there is nothing in this plan.

In my constituency today, four houses came up in Kerry Pike. Hundreds of calls have come into my office for four houses in Kerry Pike because people are so desperate.

Does the Government not understand how hard it is for ordinary people and families who are trying to get a home? They cannot find a home to buy; they cannot afford it. They cannot get somewhere to rent; they cannot afford it. They cannot get social housing. I am talking about the pensioners who have notices to quit. Where will they go? These are people who are terrified about where they are going to go in January because we have a tsunami of evictions coming and the Minister seems to have his head in the sand. Does he not know what is happening? Does he not know what people are living through? He is coming in with this plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. I would love to tell him what I think of it. I am dealing with people who are sleeping on couches or in box bedrooms, and people who are separated for Christmas. Christmas is coming. I have families who have been in emergency accommodation for three years. Imagine those poor children. They cannot put up a proper Christmas tree. They are wondering will Santa come. The parents are then distraught because they are looking. They feel like failures but they are not the failures. The Government is the failure. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are the failure because they put developers and speculators before people. They put money before people. That is what this is doing. It is an absolute disgrace. Where is the hope this Christmas? Who will be lighting a candle for all those homeless people?

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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This latest housing plan is not worth the paper it is written on. Like all other failed plans from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, this will only make the housing crisis worse. It will only make people's lives harder. It will lead to more misery for anyone trying to put a roof over their head so that a small few can make bigger profits. Smaller, darker, more expensive homes; that is this Government's plan. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are serving the interests of people who are profiting from the housing crisis. In my own county of Donegal, 80 council houses are lying empty because of defective blocks. There is no plan from the Government. They are just lying empty. It is disgraceful. Fine Gael's record in government is clear. Since it came into office, the number of people under the age of 40 who own their own home has been cut in half. Fianna Fáil joining in has only made matters worse. Today, 180 landlords own 56,000 homes in this State. The Government has ripped up home ownership and ripped it away from a whole generation to drive them into the arms of corporate landlords. In the last five years, these big landlords have doubled the number of properties they own. We have seen them hoovering up homes. They have outbid people at every turn. Workers watch on as house prices are pushed out of reach.

The Government is trying to spin a yarn that there is not enough money in housing. It churns out industry nonsense for big developers, the same big developers that are making super-profits. The biggest players have 20% gross profit margins. They are talking such a big cut that it would make the banks and the insurance industry blush. The Government looked at these obscene profits and decided to hand the developers more. It handed them massive tax breaks in this year's budget. Every worker will be worse off next year in order that developers can make more money. Shame on the Government. It wants us to believe that higher rents, higher house prices and bigger profits are going to solve the housing crisis, but that is not the case. While Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael remain in government, the housing crisis is only going to get worse. More and more people become homeless. Young people emigrate. Lives are put on hold. People's hard-earned wages are handed over to landlords and banks. All of that will continue until we take back control and start building homes working people can afford to own.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Well said.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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One of the biggest failures of this Government is the whole area of affordable housing. In large numbers of local authorities across the State, there is just no plan to roll out affordable housing schemes. I can speak with authority about my home county of Donegal. Again and again, I have submitted questions to the Minister and to his predecessor, Deputy O'Brien. I have appealed to them to put in place affordable housing schemes. If a family in Donegal with two adults and one child earns over €32,250, they cannot go on the social housing list. In order to get a mortgage, they would have to earn between €70,000 and €90,000. If the Minister does not know what wages are like in Donegal, I can tell him that a huge cohort of families are stuck. This is happening all across the State but I am telling the Minister about Donegal because I can speak with authority about it. They cannot go on the social housing list. They cannot get a mortgage. The Minister has no plan for them. He has just abandoned these working families. There is public land all across the State that could be deployed for this purpose and the Government wilfully refuses to do it.

We are hearing again and again the stories of our young people who are telling us they have no other option than to go because they have no hope. There is no light at the end of the tunnel for them to be able to put a roof over their heads. This is the social contract. We told our young people to go to college, get an education and train up in a profession. That is the contract. Get up every morning, go to work and you will have a roof over your head and security for your family, which is the most basic right. That has been denied to them. I genuinely cannot believe the Government has published another plan that fails to address this huge cohort of workers. These are ordinary workers who earn a wage that reflects their reality and life. They cannot do anything. They are stuck. I am not even going to appeal. I have lost hope in the Minister's Government. It is time for a new Government. That is clearly what we will have to work for because the Government is not listening. It is not even listening to its own commission. It is outrageous.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for finally coming before the Dáil to speak to this housing plan, a plan which is a blueprint for failure. It has next to nothing to say about rural depopulation because we know it will take real action to confront that problem. Communities across the State are being slowly hollowed out - in some cases quite quickly - because the Government has failed to deliver the homes, the services and the opportunities that young people need to stay rooted in their communities and their own places. Once young people are forced out, everything else begins to erode such as the school, the post office, community organisations and the GAA club. The failure of the Government is compounded by barriers to rural planning and the absence of basic enabling infrastructure. Wastewater capacity, water connections and transport links are missing, and without them housing simply cannot be delivered. This is the direct consequence of a Government that has turned its back on rural Ireland. This housing plan offers more gloss, more spin, nothing new and certainly no delivery.

Fágann plean tithíochta an Rialtais an Ghaeltacht ar lár. Is é seo an ceathrú plean ó 2013 agus fós tá teaghlaigh óga á bpraghsáil amach as a bpobail féin. In áit ghníomh, faighimid gealltanais ar staidéir nua agus moltaí nach bhfeicfimid go dtí 2026, más ea. Tá an ghéarchéim ann anois. Tá sé ann le blianta. Tá teaghlaigh ag imeacht anois. Caithfear cumhacht agus acmhainní a thabhairt d'Údarás na Gaeltachta chun tithe agus bonneagair riachtanach a chur ar fáil. Caithfidh an Rialtas toil pholaitiúil a léiriú agus a thaispeáint do na húdaráis áitiúla. Gan tithíocht, níl aon phobal agus gan pobal, ní mhairfidh an Ghaelainn.

The housing crisis in Waterford is now undermining the very future of towns, villages and the city. Rents are rising out of control, up 7.6% this year, which is above average. While affordable and social homes remain stuck in process and are delayed, families are left waiting. Nowhere is that failure more stark than in the village of Ardmore, where a community is facing an existential demographic crisis because an affordable housing scheme that is being spoken about has been pushed from pillar to post, from local authority to Department and from Department back to local authority, for years. It has been left in limbo. Young people have been driven out and are being driven out still. The demographic core is thinning and the village risks losing the very people who sustain its services, its school and its very identity. That same pressure stretches from Dunmore East to Lismore, and from Bunmahon to Waterford city. This neglect and indifference must end. Like my colleagues, I appeal to the Minister to change course. We hold very little hope because the plan he has published is an abomination and an admission of failure.

Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. After months and months, we finally have the Government's new flagship housing plan. After almost a year in office, we finally see how the Government hopes to bring an end to the housing catastrophe in this country. However, what did we get? We got very little. We got, essentially, an admission of failure and a total and complete lack of any vision or ambition. We got a plan that scrapped targets, provides no serious pathway to secure affordable homes for ordinary people and is not ambitious enough on social housing. It has nothing new on affordable ownership and it does not even give proper clarity on the role of State bodies like the LDA.

This could and should have been an opportunity for Government to change course on housing. Housing for All, objectively, was not a success. In its lifetime, homelessness rose from around 8,000 in 2021 to 16,766 at the last count. Family homelessness, in some cases, has risen by 120% and the number of single adults living in homelessness has never been as high. In that time, the average price of a home has risen from €272,000 to €380,000 and the average rent has risen from €1,516 to €2,200. In the lifetime of the plan, the Government never met its targets for social and affordable housing construction. In 2024, the target was 12,930, of which it delivered 10,596. It will not meet its targets this year either. The Government claims to have delivered 7,126 affordable homes in that time but it can only get that figure by including vacant property refurbishment grants. As for private homes, I will not even go there.

There are a couple of particular issues I have with the new plan. First is the abandonment of annual targets for the private sector. This is a naked attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of the Irish people and to avoid accountability and scrutiny. It will not work because people know the previous target of 40,000 per year was a complete fiction. They know when they look at the Central Bank forecast of 32,500 homes in 2025, 36,000 in 2026 and 40,000 in 2027, that there is not a hope of reaching 300,000 by the end of the plan.

There is a section in the plan on promoting affordable ownership. This is the most pressing issue facing us as a society. We have an entire generation locked out of home ownership with all the threats that poses to the social fabric of the country. There is nothing here on reducing prices or on making home ownership a plausible reality for younger people. Instead, we have had what I can only describe as a PR rebranding exercise, repackaging existing supports as a so-called starter homes programme. Again, the Government is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the people. The plan states that giving existing schemes a new name under one umbrella will "strengthen the focus and visibility of these initiatives". This is the bit I find most absurd. Is Government seriously suggesting the issue with the housing market is that people are not aware of the support schemes that are out there? This is a supply-led crisis and demands a radical supply-side response. We in Labour believe we need a massive ramping-up in the State's capacity to deliver homes. There is nothing in this plan that offers any hope on that front.

I am glad the Government has at least retained an annual target for delivery of social homes but the target of 12,000 units is too low. It should be around 15,000 units per annum. This is something we proposed in our manifesto and it is more in line with the recommendation of the Housing Commission that social and affordable housing stock should be 20% of all housing stock. It is currently around 10%. That has been ignored. It is important to note the Housing Commission estimated a deficit of between 212,500 and 256,000 homes and it is clear from the targets published here that the Government has once again ignored that.

In relation to the 72,000 target, how many of these social housing units will be turnkey developments and how many will be direct-build homes? That is something we need clarity on. We also need clarity - I pursued this last week with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell - on the issue of gearing and access to finance for approved housing bodies. We know how crucial the AHB sector will be to our hopes of getting anywhere near the targets for social homes. We know many of them are approaching their borrowing capacity. I do not take much confidence from the Minister of State's reply to me last week that the Department will now move the recommendations of the strategic forum to a sectoral reform working group - yet again, more delay.

I want to talk about land speculation, which we know is making this crisis worse. I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government to implement the land value sharing residential zoned land tax to penalise land hoarding and ensure zoned land is developed. During the last Dáil, we published legislation on implementing the recommendations of the Kenny report; however, that Bill lapsed at the election. This is something we will be coming back to because the Government must be committed to dealing with the issue of excessive profits being made following the zoning of land.

It is nothing short of shameful that 17,000 people will spend this Christmas in homeless accommodation. This is a wealthy country. The focus on family homelessness in the plan is welcome but the Minister will be judged on it. The plan will be judged on its delivery of outcomes. I am slightly concerned by the lack of specific measures for single adults in homelessness. We need a stand-alone strategy for dealing with this group because it is the biggest group of what I would describe as non-movers. The plan recognises this because it states single adults account for around two thirds of households on social housing waiting lists, but there is no real, tangible detail on dealing with the issue. We need to increase the stock of one-bed housing units. That is an important first step but we also need a specific plan for dealing with single people in homelessness.

On the rental market, the plan refers to stability but what is proposed in terms of the RTB (amendment) Bill is nothing short of a horlicks. It is unenforceable, confusing, incoherent and seeking to satiate two competing interests at the same time. Rents will, unfortunately, continue to rise and so will the rate of terminations. I am more concerned by the lack of an updated definition of "rent" or of a long-term coherent vision for renting in Ireland. We need real protections for renters, protections that keep people in their homes. People deserve stable leases, predictable rents and clear, coherent procedures that can be easily understood and enforced. In relation to the RTB (amendment) Bill, I am concerned we will be back again in two, three or four years' time when rents continue to rise and whatever government is in power at the time comes under undue political pressure. While the intention here is good, I do not think this plan will deliver the radical reset in housing policy we need.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the publication of the action plan on housing and the target to deliver 300,000 homes through a whole-of-government approach. It is ambitious but appropriate. We need ambition.

Housing affects everyone in society, whether someone waiting on a local authority housing list, a young person hoping to buy or older people looking for more suitable housing. This issue is urgent. In my area of Carlow-Kilkenny, I meet constituents every week. Single people are finding it very hard to get one-bed houses or one-bed apartments. I know that is a priority for the Minister.

It is urgent across all of society that we build as many homes as possible and have as much supply of housing as we can. It is also very important that we work with our local authorities in improving housing delivery. I particularly welcome the commitment in the plan to deliver 12,000 new social homes every year. This is critical. We have to focus on starter homes and affordable housing. I know these are a priority for the Minister and that he is very much committed to delivering them. I welcome that. Like other TDs, though, I have received lots of contact from people who are working and do not qualify for either the local authority housing list or a mortgage. These people are caught in the middle. It is an area I know the Minister is addressing and I welcome it.

The other issue is the lack of supply of rental properties. It is very challenging, but I do welcome the increased protections for renters. It is really important alongside the increased supply the Minister is committed to. Serviced sites across the country, including in my own area of Carlow-Kilkenny, need to be developed as soon as possible by local authorities for a mixture of homes. Sites should deliver homes for those on the social housing list and those looking for starter homes, as well as our older people and those with disabilities who need different housing options. I welcome the Minister's opening statement when he spoke about this issue and his commitment to it. This is really welcome. This does show the Government's commitment to housing and working to find and get everyone a home. This is so important.

We also need to look at the waiting list for grants. I just wanted to bring this matter up in respect of the housing adaptation grants. I have spoken to the Minister about it. I know the Government has increased the funding. I welcome that and I know it has done that. I wonder, though, if it could look again at the hike in the price of materials, because this means people are finding it difficult between quotes and the grant value. Maybe this is another issue the Minister might come back to me on again.

Our local authorities need resources to deliver on all this. I know the Government has funded extra staff in local authorities. I thank the Minister for it. I also know this is something he has worked on and I ask that this continue. I again have to mention my own area. This is why I felt it was important to come in today and ask the Minister about this issue. I want to talk again about dereliction in housing. I know a lot of work has been done over the last year. I can see it as well. The only issue I have is that maybe we need to look at our local authorities on the timeframes for empty houses in our towns and villages and in our stock.

Carlow is now a university town and county. Like other university towns, we know the value colleges and students bring to the local communities and our economy. I ask that student-specific accommodation would be a priority. I know student accommodation is a topic the Minister has spoken about many times, but we feel in my home town of Carlow that too many students face long commutes that impact their studies and social life, as well as taking away from the towns and cities where they are studying. Again, I know this is something the Minister is addressing and I welcome it.

The programme for Government commits to re-establishing town councils on a phased basis. I was a county councillor for many years, so I really do appreciate this. I see the work they do. I ask that this be done as soon as possible. The Minister knows himself that local authorities and local representatives play a huge role in towns and counties and can be so effective as leaders. They are leaders in community engagement and championing local authorities.

Within my own remit, I will mention that in my own area, the Department of Health, I have also secured some funding in the budget for healthcare initiatives for people in emergency accommodation, having worked with the Minister on this issue. We also need to look at services for the vulnerable. This is within my area. I know the Minister has been very supportive of me doing this. The really good news today came when I read about Rosslare-Europort. I see CIÉ will soon be seeking planning permission to expand the port and develop a landmark facility for offshore wind energy. This will be a huge investment in the south east. Again, this is really important. I believe too that offshore wind energy is the way to go in increasing our energy capabilities. All this is backed by the unprecedented investment in infrastructure under our national development plan and the infrastructure report. These are just excellent. I know we have a lot to do and we need to build a lot, but I do believe the Government is going to make those changes in line with the commitment they have given.

Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Government's housing plan, delivering homes, building communities. I thank the Minister for his opening remarks. As has been said, this is a very ambitious plan. We know the overall target is 300,000 houses between now and 2030, with 12,000 social homes and 15,000 starter homes. These are critically important. This is a plan of substance and actions. There are up to 80 actions in this plan. No single action will deliver what we want, but if we combine them all together, it will result in significant action in my opinion. It is building on the announcements already made by this Minister and this Government in recent months, such as extending planning permissions that were about to expire, resourcing the planning system so we get faster and more efficient planning decisions, resourcing the Land Development Agency, and we know there is an additional €2.5 billion, which is significant funding, simplifying the approval processes in the Department so we have faster decisions in terms of housing approvals and, of course, the Housing Activation Office working actively with the 31 local authorities in helping to deliver homes. These are critical measures and this plan will build on that.

It provides record funding through the revised national development plan, with €102 billion between now and 2030. This will provide critical investment in water, wastewater, energy, key infrastructural requirements and, of course, housing itself. As we have seen today and this week in relation to the accelerating infrastructure task force and the recommendations within that in terms of trying to speed up the delivery of key infrastructural projects, I think that will work in tandem with this plan so we can have a very solid foundation for home building in future.

The €9 billion of Exchequer funding being provided in 2026 for homes in this country through the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency is very significant. As I said, the planning reforms are very important so that we have faster decisions and consistency across the country in terms of decisions. The reforms of the city and county development plans are also very important so we will have additional zoned land and sufficient headroom in this regard. As we know, not all zoned land is developed, so we need sufficient headroom there. The new, updated development plans will allow for that.

We must, of course, ensure we have compact growth in our urban areas so we maximise the services we have available. Tackling vacancy and dereliction is also a very significant part of this and there are key measures in it to provide additional incentives. Equally, if actions are not being taken, a property tax will be established through the Revenue, which is also very important. The real test of this plan will be reducing homelessness in this country, which we know is very significant. There are specific actions in this plan to try to address this issue of homelessness. Critically, for me, this is about ensuring we have a proper housing supply, that the 15,000 starter homes are delivered through this plan, which is critically important so people have the option of securing home ownership, and that the schemes are there to assist them.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome these statements on the Government’s updated housing plan, which rightly sets a minimum target of 300,000 homes, including 72,000 social and 90,000 affordable homes. The plan is backed by €9 billion in housing capital for next year alone. It focuses on activating land, clearing blockages and expanding housing first and family homelessness measures. This is essential if we are serious about meeting needs rather than chasing yearly targets.

In my area of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, we can clearly see what works when the State, the county council, the LDA and approved housing bodies pull in the same direction. Shanganagh Castle in Shankill is the largest social and affordable housing scheme in the country, with 597 new homes, including hundreds of social, cost-rental and affordable purchase homes in one integrated community. That is how we should be doing public housing everywhere, at scale, where mixed tenure and long-term affordability is built in. Alongside that, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown has sharply increased allocations from its own stock and AHB homes in recent years, and has used voids funding to bring long-time vacant units back into use.

Those are the quiet but important wins for families on waiting lists and for people exiting emergency accommodation. However, nobody in Dún Laoghaire believes the job is done. Rents are still some of the highest in the State, and we see the human reality of homelessness every week. This plan will be judged on whether it speeds up approvals, gets more Shanganagh-type schemes on the ground, turns vacant properties into homes and gives local authorities the staffing and flexibility to deliver. If we do that, then this plan will not just deliver units on a spreadsheet, it will build new communities in Dún Laoghaire and across the State.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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I have listened to the speeches over the last little while and I find it incredible. Fine Gael has had 15 years and it is talking about another new plan on the abandoned plan on top of the other abandoned plan it had prior to that, which created nothing. It is absolutely scandalous to listen to the Government because it is not a new plan. It is reheated, repackaged and has already failed three times to deliver genuinely affordable and social homes. What is shocking is that the Government is now actually underestimating the number of homes required by 20%.