Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. We have been discussing this legislation at the Oireachtas joint committee. We were in the process of trying to conclude pre-legislative scrutiny on the legislation. We had good engagement with the Minister's Department and with others. As a committee, we support the Government's and the Minister's objectives to deliver on Housing for All, which is the ambitious plan to deliver 300,000 homes, with a mixture of social, affordable, and private homes, and for the very first time the affordable cost-rental homes.

We also support the Government's objectives to facilitate, increase and champion the delivery of renewables and offshore wind energy generation. Ireland is a leader in onshore wind energy but offshore wind energy presents such an enormous opportunity for our country - not just for ourselves but also for wider Europe - for energy security, for energy sustainability, and to help us achieve our climate action objectives. We support all of those efforts.

As a committee there is unanimity around our ambition to have strong, independent, objective planning processes in order that the public can have confidence in our planning processes. This brings me to the disappointment that we have been unable to complete our pre-legislative scrutiny in advance of consideration of this important legislation. I agree with the Minister that it is urgent. The urgency required to solve the housing crisis cannot be overstated. On that basis, the Fianna Fáil group will support the Bill and we look forward to progressing the legislation, and any legislation that can enable our local authorities, approved housing bodies and anybody who wants to help to solve the housing crisis, to solve our energy crisis and to restore public confidence in our planning system.

This legislation aims to do all those three things. The legislation aims to facilitate and ensure independent, transparent and strong decision-making in terms of our planning processes. I commend the Minister on ending the strategic housing development process and for introducing the large-scale residential development planning process. That has done a number of things. It has restored decision-making at a local level. The party believes that the primacy of our democracy is at a local level. Our local governments are independent authorities in each of their jurisdictions. They work in partnership with central government and it is our job to ensure they are equipped and enabled to deliver for their communities. I believe that the reforming change introduced by the Minister to return the planning decision-making processes to our local authorities is an incredibly valuable one that our local authority members appreciate and value. I believe they will exercise it with very good effect for their communities.

This legislation deals with An Bord Pleanála and the need on an urgent basis for the appointment of an interim chairperson. I do not want to delay the debate so I will not discuss the issues that have gone on with An Bord Pleanála. It is not an overstatement to say the public's confidence in the board as a body to perform very important functions around planning is at an all-time low. There is an urgent need for the appointment of a strong chair to that body. The Minister has brought forward a reforming action plan for An Bord Pleanála and there is a real desire from the public to see that action plan implemented as soon as possible and to see confidence being restored in An Bord Pleanála's ability to deliver planning decisions that are independent, objective and, most importantly, transparent. It is very important that we get this done and that the Minister, through this legislation, is able to do that.

The foreshore licence is a critical issue for our marine activities. Again, we will support the Minister's Bill on that.On the new powers that are proposed, they give the local authorities, which are the closest, in our democracy, to the communities we all aim to serve, the power to accelerate the delivery of social and affordable homes at the time of a housing crisis. The Minister's Department and the local authorities are to be commended on the massive acceleration that they have already achieved in just over a year since Housing for All was introduced. Everyone involved should be commended, including the local authorities, the Department, the approved housing bodies, and the private developers - everybody who has put their shoulder to the wheel and has already delivered more than 55,000 homes in construction or commencements. When we consider that we were coming from such a low base 12 to 24 months ago, it is encouraging, but we have to push on with the ambition to deliver a minimum of 35,000 homes per year to get us to somewhere in the region of 40,000 homes a year. The urgency that is required for that is really pressing. It is an ambition that everybody must be involved in. We must enable our local authorities to use lands that are already zoned or serviced for housing in locations where there is housing demand and where there are plans that are consistent with the city and county development plans and the housing plans. One of the additional values and benefits that local authority members have told me Housing for All has given them is the ability to have an input into their housing action and delivery plans, and to know that there is going to be sustained funding over many years to deliver. This is another important development. I thank the Minister for bringing the legislation to the House today and I look forward to the debate.