Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are a number of issues amalgamating here. One concerns the Office of the Planning Regulator. Has the Land Development Agency engaged with local authorities that currently are compiling their area, county or city development plans? We must learn from the past. We must not replicate the mistakes we made in previous generations. That is why, in section 77(2)(c), reference is made to the need to counteract undue segregation in housing between persons of different social backgrounds. As Senator Byrne said, we all want to deliver the right mixture of housing for our fellow citizens. If I am honest, my natural inclination would be to support the Labour Party amendment. We need to get the mix right. To be fair to the Minister, he has come on a huge journey in terms of the percentages in the context of what we are delivering. I will not repeat what other Members have said.

Affordable and social housing is being built and developed on public land. I am thinking of two sites in Cork in particular, namely, St. Kevin's and Boherboy Road. There is also a third site in the docklands of 146 acres. This Government has awarded the local authority the largest amount of money ever to regenerate Cork city and to include social and affordable housing as part of that development. The Minister is right. It suits the narrative of some not to recognise the awarding of €2.1 billion. Do we know what €2.1 billion is and what it will deliver and the empowerment it will give to citizens to have their own home? Do Members know what €2.1 billion is? As I said earlier in the Chamber, we can have a hooley in the land of milk and honey, but some of us live in the land of reality. We can record a 60-second video segment, but it will not build a house. Senator Byrne is 100% correct. Many of the builders I know are living in the community, employing in the community and contributing to the community. Some may argue they are making a profit. That is their job. Are we telling the local hoteliers and restaurateurs they should charge for rooms and meals at below cost? Of course, we are not.

I am all for, and support, the concept behind what Senator Moynihan is trying to achieve in her amendment. My concern, however, is that, on another level, we are not going to engage with the Office of the Planning Regulator and we are going to tie the hands of local authorities. I am thinking in particular of Cork, where parts of the city were located within the county boundaries previously and there is a planning problem. A logjam is being created there. I do not recall which Member said it previously. At one level, the policy is brilliant but the practicality of it on the ground is completely different. The one thing I do not want to do is to centralise the power completely in the hands of the Minister or the officials in the Custom House because I trust the officials in Cork city and county, for example, to do the right thing. Looking at the plans that have been drawn up for the Boherboy Road and St. Kevin's developments, not one person in this Chamber would vote against them. There was a segment in a radio programme today about the criteria for selection and the waiting list. We could have the ideological debate all night. Do we really want to have houses built and public lands utilised or do we just want to create the political football and fail to recognise the views and needs of people? If those of us who are practising politicians listen to messages from people, whether it is in by-elections, door-to-door canvassing, in shopping centres or when we meet them elsewhere, it is clear they want Government to act and deliver. They are tired of the sloganeering and the soundbite politics. They want houses delivered. They want to see bricks and mortar put on public lands in the context of this Bill.

The whole incentivisation piece is one that I think we should discuss further. I said as much today in the debate on the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. I will return to the issue in respect of another section.

We need to drive it on. It is about building. It is about the public realm in our cities and counties that will be delivering housing for people. That is the essence of what we should always keep at the forefront of what we do.