Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues relating to Rebuilding Ireland. I welcome the changes to the employment permit scheme for construction sector workers from outside the European Union. Credit for that is due to the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, and the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. It is positive in that it recognises that additional people are needed. The purpose of the scheme is to maximise the benefits of economic migration while minimising the risk of disturbing the labour market. A new list of people who can come in under this scheme was announced yesterday, including civil engineers, quantity surveyors, construction project managers, steel and metalworkers, welders, pipefitters, glaziers, scaffolders, crane drivers, etc. There is a substantial array and that is only some of them. That is a positive message. It needs to be kept under constant review. Some of those have caps on them, ranging from 200 to 300 employees. There is a particular shortage of plasterers and bricklayers in the country. That is only one aspect. We also need to access training programmes and apprenticeship training to have our own people involved in that. I welcome that.

Late last night, the specific targets in Rebuilding Ireland for the delivery of social housing for 2019 were formally published and should now be on the Department's website. Having a copy in front of me, I can confirm that there are only 6,545 houses to be built directly by the 31 local authorities. That is a little disappointing but it is better than the previous years. We have to crank it up. Those of us on all sides and none in politics have to work together to keep the pressure on the local authorities to deliver. More resources from the Department and Exchequer are needed to build social and affordable housing on State lands. I look forward to a debate on the Land Development Agency, LDA. We still do not have the necessary legislation underpinning the agency. The target for overall delivery in 2019, whether the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, affordable or social housing, or other aspects and partnerships, is for more than 27,000 houses this year. If we deliver on that target, that will be a success. As I have said repeatedly, I have no political ideology or hang-up about who builds or owns these houses.We need to deliver homes for people who want them. They must be affordable to purchase and rent. There are two positives today and politicians need to be vigilant to keep the pressure on to ensure these targets are met.