Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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As the Tánaiste is aware, many young people between the ages of 25 and 33 are leaving our shores. Many of them were in good, settled jobs. These are gardaí, teachers, mechanics and people with different trades. They are valuable individuals, and they are leaving because they simply believe that they cannot buy or build a house for themselves. They say that if they were not working at all or working only part-time, they would qualify to get on the local authority list and, eventually, get a social housing unit. In other words, they are telling us that there is no incentive for them to continue working in Ireland. I hope that the new planning Bill - there has been a lot of talk about it coming shortly; it cannot come quickly enough - will go far enough to ensure that people can get permission to build houses near or in their own localities and that they will be allowed to build entrances adjacent to national primary and secondary roads where it is safe to do so and where access already exists. The Government is encouraging people - as I said, nurses and mechanics and those with good qualifications - to come home from Australia, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and everywhere else and aims to halt the flow of the present crop of boys and girls who are leaving in their droves in the first instance. Both things will be achieved if the Government gets the planning right. I and many others have been asking for the planning process to be made easier for many years.

The other problem relates to mortgages. In the context of getting a mortgage, people can borrow four times the combined gross annual income of up to 90% of the value of the property. That is a big problem for many. People need proof of steady employment for at least 12 months and a deposit of 10%. Most mortgages now, because of the massive costs involved, are taking 30 to 35 years to pay back. Many people will have reached pension age before they fully own their houses. In the UK, there is no VAT on building materials. What can Ireland not be the same? The cost of the building is increased by one third as a result of tax, VAT and other levies.

There should be an incentive to build smaller houses. In County Kerry, the cost of building a new house is €220 to €280 per square foot, which means that the type of houses being built at present are costing somewhere between €200,000 and €280,000. That is on top of the cost of the site.

One will face a cost of €400,000 before the house is completed. I am asking the Government to look at these things to see whether we can stop people from leaving our shores.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the question on housing and how we give our young people hope in terms of the ability to own or indeed in some cases to build their own home. I do not say this in any way disrespectfully to the Deputy but taxes are an important part of funding the State and we cannot just reduce or abolish them all. We have taken a number of measures recently to reduce the cost of construction and to try to assist around viability but we have also taken a number of measures on the tax side, particularly the help-to-buy scheme, which has literally helped tens of thousands of people get some of their own tax back towards a deposit for their home. That is a scheme we are very committed to as a Government and we are committed to keeping it in place until the end of the mandate of this Government.

The Deputy made points regarding mortgages and the amount a person can borrow. These are issues that I genuinely hear from people but we also have to get the balance right because we do not want to arrive back at the place we were in the past with a very high level of mortgage indebtedness and the difficulty that arises from that. We, as a Government, have a number of schemes in place and have commitments in the programme for Government to keep them under review.

We have to do more on rural housing. We have to make sure that people have an ability to live in their own community. It is a really important part of balanced regional development and the regeneration of rural communities and we have got to get it right. It is not about a free-for-all and it is certainly not about people from one part of the country building a holiday home in the other. It is about people who have a social and economic connection with the community being able to live in their own community and build their own home. It is about people who are not asking the Government to do anything other than allow them to build their own home and if we are being honest, until now, the rules have been inconsistent. The rules depend on whether you live in this county or that county, which is not fair. This is a small country and it is a small island and we need to have a consistent approach to rural planning guidelines.

The intention now is to have a new national planning statement on rural housing prepared under section 25 of the Planning and Development Act, which will ultimately require Government approval and then will be issued by the Minister for housing. The new statement will refine, update and replace the existing guidelines as well as provide more clarity and more consistency across the planning authorities by defining where and how rural housing can be developed. I believe it will make it easier for people, including young people, to be able to build a home in their own community. The benefits of that socially and economically for rural Ireland, including parts of County Kerry, will be significant. We need to facilitate rural housing for those with a local housing need where they need to live or work in a rural area. Of course, we always have to balance that with protecting the rural character of countryside and preventing urban-generated sprawl as well. I am really looking forward to the new national planning statement coming to Government very shortly and I think it will be of significant benefit to rural communities.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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The other thing is that the birth rate is falling yet our population is going up with a population increase of over 500,000 in recent years. This is putting pressure on house availability. With many vacant houses, there is no real incentive available to owners to rent them out but there is an incentive there that is working for the Ukrainian people, namely, a tax-free payment of €600 to the landlord. If we could do something like that for some of our own people, it would be great for them. People coming from other parts of the world are very welcome to come here if they are coming here to work but it should never be the case that they can come in here, get a payment right away, get on the social housing list and compete with our own people who were born and reared here. We must look after our own people first. I need to clarify something.

I said the cost of a house Kerry was €220,000 to €280,000. I meant it was €220 to €280 per square foot to build, so when we add that up, that comes to over €400,000. I am saying that too many people are having trouble getting the mortgage in the first place and we need to do something about it.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I always believe in an honest debate around migration but the honest debate has to be grounded in facts. People who arrive in Ireland from abroad through a variety of circumstances do not have an automatic right to social housing. The Deputy knows that too and he knows that in Kerry as well. People from Ukraine contribute very significantly to our economy as well. Obviously, they do have the right to work and indeed many businesses around this country tell me how reliant-----

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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They are costing us as well.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Please do not heckle me on this because we have to be respectful when we debate these issues. The Government is making a number of changes in relation to Ukrainian accommodation and some of the issues highlighted by the Deputy because, in our view, we do need to make the model sustainable because we want to be able to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. The emergency approach that we have had to date does need to be replaced with a more sustainable approach and that is how we are going to do it. In saying that, I acknowledge the positive contribution that Ukrainian people are making. As the Deputy pointed out, many people are coming to Ireland and are working in this country.

Regarding vacant homes, we have already seen 20,000 homes come back into use via the vacant property grant, we are bringing in a new derelict property tax in the next budget and we have also expanded grants for shop conversions. The issue of vacancy and dereliction in the housing emergency is rightly identified by the Deputy as a key issue on which we want to make more progress.