Ivana Bacik (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and support the amendment tabled by my Labour Party colleague, Senator Moynihan. It essentially is providing for an extra layer of Oireachtas scrutiny over measures adopted and the regulations proposed to be made under the Act.

As Senator Boyhan has said, I also commend the Bills Office on turning this around so quickly. We all appreciate the huge importance of this legislation and of any measures to expedite the provision of affordable housing. All Members are aware of huge importance of the housing issue currently, of the serious concerns across communities all over Ireland about the lack of availability of affordable housing and the lack of supply, in particular.

I should say that in my constituency of Dublin Bay South yesterday, I met residents from Irishtown and Ringsend. We met just beside the Irish Glass Bottle site, which is a site that has been mired in difficulty. It should have by now been able to provide a significant number of affordable and social houses and apartments, alongside other houses and apartments. Yet, we see this massive proposed development stalled over a period of years, real problems of consultation with local residents and real concerns about the linkage of affordability to market value rather than to income.

Senator Moynihan has spoken powerfully about our conception of affordability and how that needs to change. I heard huge concerns from residents about the lack of provision for apartments, about the issues around management fees, around the setting of rents but in particular, about the failure to provide the supply of housing for an area where it is sorely needed and where many young people are being priced out of the market or simply cannot find anywhere to live.

I therefore appeal to the Minister of State to accept this important amendment to ensure that there is provision for sufficient Oireachtas scrutiny. I look forward to engaging with the Minister of State and his colleagues on other provisions of this important Bill during the course of the day.