John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, to the House. I thank him and his officials for bringing forward this short but important and complex legislation. It is important in the context of regularising and, in the case of unauthorised development, remediating developments such as quarries that may have cropped up over the course of a significant period of time without planning permission. This legislation was given quite an airing at the Oireachtas joint committee late last year. I thank the Minister of State's officials for briefing members of the committee on the provisions of the legislation. As stated by the Minister of State, this Bill follows on from the interim amendments made in 2020 as a result of the Ballysax and McQuaid cases, which legislation was enacted at the end of 2020. This legislation builds on that and puts it on a permanent and statutory footing, which is welcome.

I had proposed to keep my comments relatively short but as the Minister of State has informed the House of the significant number of amendments to be brought forward by Government in the areas of statutory plans, judicial reviews, affordable purchase, the revaluation programme and in regard to the foreshore Act, I would like to comment in anticipation of those amendments.

The Minister of State referenced the programme for Government commitment in regard to the judicial review and the work that is ongoing by the Attorney General in that regard. It is welcome that elements of that may be brought forward as part of this legislation, to ensure that in the administrative reviews all avenues would be pursued before it becomes necessary to go the judicial review route. I welcome any changes that would enhance the affordable purchase scheme and the first-home affordable purchase shared equity scheme, which will be in place by 1 July, as confirmed at an Oireachtas joint committee meeting a couple of weeks ago.The first-home shared equity scheme is a very important element of Housing For All, which will bridge the gap between the purchase price and the maximum mortgage amount that an individual, a couple or a family is able to get from a pillar bank or a housing loan through a local authority. It is also important to put on the record of the House that there are many in the Opposition who are opposed to that scheme which will help so many people in getting their foot on the ladder for the first time, and that is obviously regrettable.

I refer to the affordable purchase scheme through the local authorities. Three schemes have been approved in my local authority area of Waterford, some of the first in partnership with developers, that will see units delivered for families in this calendar year, which is hugely welcome. The regulation on the criteria for the selection of those homes is due to be published by the end of the week.

I look forward to teasing out the amendments further on Committee Stage in regard to the revaluation programme. I am sure any moves that will assist and streamline that process will be welcomed by the local authority sector. One of the issues that I experienced during my time in local government was when a new premises was established with a company operating, possibly a multinational corporation, if it was completed in the middle of the year, it was not valued until the following year. This means the local authority did not get any income from rates until the following year. Perhaps that could be taken on board by the Minister of State if it is not already being incorporated as part of the amendments the Government has in mind.

I welcome the Bill. Obviously, it will be added to significantly as we progress it through the Houses. I look forward to teasing the issues out as we progress through the stages.