Aubrey McCarthy (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to address the issue of housing and the homeless crisis. I ask the Deputy Leader to call on the Minister for housing to come before the House and debate the ongoing housing crisis. Yesterday we saw a number of articles on CSO figures that paint a deeply concerning picture which demands immediate attention. We see that planning permissions for apartments plummeted by 39%, with a drop of more than 55% in the Dublin area alone. This means the number of new homes approved has fallen by more than 21%. This has reversed the positive completions mentioned for the previous year. The Government missed its targets last year and it looks like they will be missed again this year by 6,000. If approvals in the planning process dictate construction in the years ahead, it looks like we are heading for an even bigger crisis.

An article by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service on tackling homelessness shows that, except for the period of Covid, the number of people living in emergency accommodation has risen substantially year on year since 2015. These figures are not just numbers; they are homes for families, they mean increased pressure on renters and they mean prolonged hardship. We see this every day at the Lighthouse Cafe. The industry has said time and again that planning bottlenecks, expiring permissions and rental regulation uncertainty are blocking development. We need to discuss solutions such as extending existing permissions, reviewing the rent pressure legislation and ensuring the national planning framework facilitates and does not hinder development. I urge the Minister for housing to come before the House urgently. We need a full debate on the alarming trends mentioned in so many of the articles yesterday. We need to hear what steps the Government is taking to deal with these. I have been involved in our housing system for many years and I believe it is at breaking point and we cannot stand idly by.