Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for the amendments and the contributions they have made. I will not detain the House any longer than I have to on these amendments other than to state I cannot accept amendments Nos. 20 and 77 to 81, inclusive. I wish to explain some of the rationale that has been addressed as part of the discussion.

Amendment No. 20 seeks to amend section 4, which provides definitions of references made in the Bill. I already made substantial amendments previously. I brought forward amendments in Part 9 on Report Stage in the Dáil to align the provisions of this Part more closely with the recently published Affordable Housing Bill and Part V of the Planning and Development Act. As part of these amendments, a new definition of cost rental has been included in section 74. That is why I cannot not accept amendment No. 20 as tabled by the Labour Party Senators. There is a new definition that is fully aligned with the Affordable Housing Bill. We needed to make sure that happened as both Bills pass through both Houses. It ensures the cost rental housing delivered under this Land Development Agency Bill is exactly in line with the definitions set out in the Affordable Housing Bill. It provides that any affordable housing delivered on relevant public lands by the Land Development Agency or any other developer for purchase or cost rental will be fully in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 of the Affordable Housing Bill.Senator Casey and Senator Buttimer already mentioned the changes that we made, especially in urban areas of population of over 150,000 like Cork and Dublin, where, by the way, affordability is at its most acute. That is why in those areas we have upped the rate to 80% of affordable housing. When we include the Part V provision of 20%, it is 100% affordable and social there.

Senator Byrne mentioned a pertinent point around the mix. We made some changes around the phrase "undue segregation". We do not want communities to be segregated and I agree with every Senator who says that. A Senator may say he does not want communities to be segregated on the basis of social background or the type of housing. However, if we double down by simply saying it must be all public in a given place, then we are bringing about that segregation. We must look at areas where it is more appropriate to allow flexibility. There are parts of the country where no private homes are being built because of a viability issue. Basically, the only homes being built in some areas, especially in areas near the Border and midlands, are public homes. Then there are many people who cannot qualify for those homes. We have to try to get the mix right. This can be through what we did earlier with the Affordable Housing Bill and through the LDA in areas where it will operate by activating the land and getting it back into use. It is far more appropriate for the developer of a site to agree the appropriate tenure mix for affordable housing.

Every Senator has mentioned the local authority being central to this. Who are developers going to agree the mix with? It will be with the planning authority, which is the local authority, as part of the planning process. That is the most appropriate place for it.

On the one hand we have some Senators backing local authorities and saying they want local authorities to do it, but on the other hand they want to tie the hands of local authorities by setting a specific percentage. I understand and respect why it is being set. It is not that I disagree with anything in it but I believe we are being far too prescriptive so I cannot accept that.

Everyone knows the provision of affordable housing is of the utmost priority for those of us in the Government. When the legislation was first drafted and published, work was not completed on the Affordable Housing Bill. That is why I made the changes to section 9. The aim was to align the affordable housing definitions directly with the LDA because both tranches of legislation will deliver significantly on the affordable housing side. It is appropriate that the delivery of affordable housing under this Bill is linked for the first time to actual definitions within the Affordable Housing Bill for cost-rental affordable purchase.

Amendment No. 79 is about the percentage to be developed on relevant public land. I am opposing the amendment for many of the reasons I have outlined.

Amendments Nos. 80 and 81 seek to introduce limits on cost-rental dwellings under the Bill. I am unsure whether that is something we would want to do. Again, it would be removing input from those who know best. I will not accept these amendments as any cost-rental housing delivered on relevant public lands either by the LDA or another developer will be provided fully in accordance with the provisions of Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Bill.

I thank the Senators for tabling the amendments but I will not be accepting any of them.