Niall Blaney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank him, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke and the Minister for the work they have done since coming to office. We can talk until the cows come home about this matter. Those in opposition can criticise us and we have a go at them, but there is a reality to the discussion of Housing for All. Facts speak louder than anything else. It is very difficult to listen to some of the Trump-speak coming from the Opposition. There seems to be a policy to the effect that if they keep talking down Housing for All, people will actually believe what they are saying. The reality is that the delivery on the ground is being seen. I understand the frustrations, and we hope to facilitate much more in the years to come.

If you sit back and look at the enormity of the reform of legislation and policy coming from the Custom House, it is completely unprecedented. Never has there been such an overhaul of policy relating to housing, water and sewerage issues across the country and problems with mica in Donegal and other counties. The reform has been astronomical in scope and is extremely welcome. The major reforms in planning laws and guidelines under the national planning framework, includes: the overall and review that is taking place of An Bord Pleanála; the streamlining of county development plans; regional and spatial economic strategies proposing to extend the lifetime of county development plans to ten years - with built-in reviews; the proposed streamlining of a planning consent process, with specific timelines for decisions; and the schemes introduced by the Minister to resolve the issues in towns across the country where planning was being stopped because of sewage issues. All of these deal with real issues in respect of which there have been barriers.

I listened to the some of those in opposition talking about local authorities. Our local authorities were taken out of the equation for nearly ten years. That is a big part of the reason we are where we are today. I take issue with what Senator Moynihan said regarding local authorities. If local authorities do not deliver housing, we cannot get to where we need to go. That is the reality. Anybody who says otherwise does not really know what they are talking about. I say that with the greatest respect. Our local authorities were key to delivery in past decades, a matter to which Senator Black referred. We are now rebuilding what was lost in that regard. Housing for All has been in place for 14 months and our targets are being met. We will probably exceed them this year. That is a massive turnaround, but I have not heard any proposition here that will lead to anything better. I have heard no propositions at all. What is coming from the Opposition is absolute nonsense. The reforms that have been made are the only show in town.

On regulation in respect of pyrite, this is a matter that the Minister is proposing to tackle in the year ahead. That is very welcome because this issue is completely pertinent in the context of my county, Donegal. The Minister put time and effort into dealing with the mica issue. It is a massively complex issue and we hope to see those regulations put into being and a scheme up and running in the next few weeks. People in Donegal are waiting for that. There was a lot of talk in recent months about foundations. Many of these houses need refurbishment or demolition. It is funny that we have yet to identify a foundation in Donegal that has the problems that some in the Opposition claim they had. Claims were made by scientists and others who were asked to pass on the information about these foundations in Donegal to help with the review of IS465. It has still not appeared. These scientists are great on a certain given day but when they go blazing off in the sun and neither they nor their data can be seen again, it is a poor reflection on them and those that portrayed their agenda. We look forward to the resolution of all these issues. County councillors in Donegal are working closely with management to ensure Donegal meets its targets, and I hope all politicians are doing the same in their respective counties.

I wish the Minister of State well in his endeavours.