Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí go léir. I have taken note of their comments. We are deeply grateful to all the officials in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage who did such incredible work on this. There has been a high level of dedication to Housing for All, led by the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The Department has a Fianna Fáil Minister and two Minister of States from Fine Gael and the Green Party. They are united in this common cause. It is not just about the Ministers; it is also about the partners, the NGOs, approved housing bodies and the local authorities, in addition to the Opposition parties, which have contributed in this House and the Dáil. It needs to be acknowledged that we have all contributed. We should have collective ownership of the initiative over the coming years rather than dividing on it. It is important that we try to work collaboratively to achieve the objectives in Housing for All.

I have a couple of comments. Irish Water has been mentioned several times. I ticked a box every time it was mentioned. I hope that once we move towards a single public utility, the associated issues can be resolved. That will certainly help with our ambition in this regard.

The performance of local authorities was mentioned. Bringing the chief executive officers of local authorities before a committee is certainly worth considering. There are targets set for each county in respect of social housing and delivery. That is to be noted also.

On vacant homes, those on the heritage side inputted quite a lot into the town centres first policy, which the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, will be introducing shortly. There is great potential in this regard. It was debated last night here and in the Dáil. I have sat through quite a lot of the debate as a whole. It is quite interesting to see the turnaround from a decade ago in that talk about town centres has now become mainstream. Let us try to deliver on that.

Disability was also mentioned. There are some very good examples of initiatives in this regard across the country, one of which is in my county, Kilkenny. It concerns independent co-housing in Callan. There is a genuine opportunity associated with integrated housing and life-cycle housing. It is important that we deliver on that.

A point was made on the development of sustainable communities. It is not just about delivering units; it is also about delivering sustainable communities. That entails mobility and transport, access to public transport and creating vibrant town centres.

The point was made that this is a radical, realistic and costed plan. It is. We are very determined to deliver on it. Points were made about renters and security of tenure, which will also be addressed.

I thank all the Senators present. It is fantastic to be back in this House to address them. I appreciated the level of debate this afternoon.

Our central goal in Housing for All, as set out in the programme for Government, is that everyone in the State should have access to a home to purchase or to rent at an affordable price, built to a high standard and at the right place, and offering a high quality of life. Everyone should have access to sustainable good-quality housing that is located close to services that are essential for healthy and happy living. Housing for All achieves this. Every player, be it a State body or otherwise, has a part to play in solving the housing problem. Any long-term solution needs to have the entire system pulling in the same direction to a common goal, namely, more and better houses and apartments at affordable prices to buy or to rent. There is no quick fix, as stated by the Minister, as anyone with a genuine interest in housing knows. Right now, there are not enough houses to buy or rent in the private sector. We need to build more social housing. Housing has become increasingly unaffordable for the squeezed middle. Too many people are experiencing homelessness or are unable to access appropriate housing. The cost of building houses is too high. Too much vacant stock remains unused. Our housing stock needs to be more environmentally friendly.

Tackling the housing problem is not an overnight process. The solutions to the problems are not all to be found within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. There are many problems to be solved. Our job is to increase the capacity in both the private and public construction sectors and to create the environment needed to enable the sector to get back to building houses on scale. We are aware that we must provide many more homes for our growing population over the next decade at prices and rents that people can afford. We will spend unprecedented amounts of Exchequer money to provide social and affordable housing, introduce new incentives to encourage homebuilding in suitable locations, introduce taxes to galvanise the greater use of zoned land and vacant properties, and release State-owned land for residential construction.

We must also ensure that housing stock is fully utilised. That is why Housing for All introduces incentives and measures to bring vacant and derelict properties back into residential use. This policy has the potential to rejuvenate our villages, towns and cities and breathe new life into once-loved buildings. These and other measures will support the ambition of the forthcoming climate action plan.

We need to consider the most vulnerable. Preventing homelessness, protecting tenants and supporting social inclusion are all critical to the success of Housing for All. We will continue to support vulnerable households. We will increase the levels of new housing stock. It fills me with immense pride to be involved in a plan that will work towards the eradication of homelessness. Signing up to the Lisbon Declaration signals our commitment in this regard. This plan supports our commitment to end homelessness by 2030. Housing for All is not just about delivering the necessary homes for private, social and affordable housing; it is also about setting out a pathway to economic, societal and environmental sustainability in the delivery of housing. Our measures relating to the construction sector, including on costs, will help to make the delivery of housing more economically sustainable in the longer term. This plan will ensure that we achieve a more sustainable housing system, with a planning system that is fit for purpose and that will create long-term, vibrant communities with the necessary supporting infrastructure.

The implementation of this plan is now of the utmost importance. Oversight will be provided by the Cabinet committee on housing. Actions will be continually monitored and updated annually to account for the latest analysis, performance against our targets and any new or corrective actions that may be necessary to stay on track in meeting our targets. By working together to implement this plan, the Government will make every effort to accelerate the delivery of housing for all and work towards a long-term sustainable housing system for this and future generations.

While preparing Housing for All over the past 12 months, the Government has taken up the fight to address the housing crisis head-on. It has already introduced some ambitious actions, and that ambition is evident for all to see in Housing for All. This year saw the largest housing budget on record. The Government passed the first-ever comprehensive affordable housing Act and reformed the Land Development Agency's remit, while placing it on a statutory footing. Both steps are aimed at increasing affordability.

The help-to-buy incentive was extended. Ireland's first-ever cost rental homes were opened. To assist older people and people with a disability, we have increased funding for housing adaptation grants for older people and people with a disability. We have also increased funding under the disabled person's grant and the improvement works in lieu of local authority housing scheme.

For renters, the Government extended the rent pressure zones and limited rent increases to general inflation. It also limited deposits and extended protections for student renters. Co-living has been banned and five separate legislative measures have strengthened tenant protections. We also legislated to protect traditional family homes from bulk purchases.

To combat vacancy, we brought over 3,600 vacant social homes back into use, streamlined the buy and renew scheme and extended the repair and lease scheme, the grant now being €60,000. To stimulate more housing, we invested in an Irish Water stimulus package and slashing red tape associated with developing new social housing by increasing the single-stage approval process figure to €6 million. The regeneration of our cities and towns has been underlined by an additional investment of €1.3 billion under the urban regeneration and development fund.

It is clear from the action taken by the Government over the past year that all are intent on and committed to fixing our housing system. Housing for All takes that commitment a step further and on a pathway to a sustainable housing system by clearly setting out how we plan to address the serious short-, medium- and long-term challenges ahead.Housing for All takes that commitment a step further on the pathway to a sustainable housing system by clearly setting out how we plan to address the serious short, medium and long-term challenges ahead. Ireland needs a long-term plan that addresses the fundamentals of our housing system. The Government has a key role to play in enabling the delivery of housing, ensuring that best use is made of existing stock and delivering strong sustainable communities. Through Housing for All there is an unprecedented level of collaboration across government and with key stakeholders backed up by historic levels of funding. Working with and enabling the private sector to deliver on housing is also central to the plan.

The national planning framework outlines the need for an average of 33,000 additional homes to be constructed per annum until 2030. These homes need to be affordable, built in the right place to the right standard and in support of climate action. They need to satisfy demand for housing across four tenures, namely, affordable, social, private rental and private ownership. They need to be advanced through the planning process and to be built within the context of specific development targets for five cities and major towns and the complementary objectives of the town centres first policy and rural housing. The four pathways in Housing for All contain a comprehensive suite of actions to achieve housing policy objectives. Housing for All has the largest housing budget in the history of the State to support these pathways, with an excess of €20 billion in funding through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency over the next five years.

This plan will work. I am sure the 213 actions are the right ones to solve the crisis. I have every confidence in the team throughout the entirety of government and beyond tasked with implementing them. The investment the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has explained, along with all of the measures discussed here and in the document, will broaden home ownership to a wider circle of citizens while eradicating homelessness and addressing social housing needs. It will improve the lives of all families and the long-term health of our communities. Housing for All will give the squeezed middle a real chance to buy their homes. It will help those struggling to make ends meet. It will help to breathe fresh life into our towns, villages, rural communities and cities. Most importantly, it will get the country back to building homes. It will take perseverance, focus, determination and resolve but Housing for All will meet the housing needs of a generation. Housing for All will work.