Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I, too, welcome Senator Pat Casey's guests, namely Pat and Barry, and the school pupils. I hope they have a very enjoyable day here.

One of the many difficult aspects of the current housing crisis is the availability of funds for investment in housing and, indeed, many other projects. Government finance has accelerated over recent years but it is simply not enough without the support of considerable finance from other sources. That there is almost €170 billion in savings on deposit in Ireland, which under the right circumstances could be better utilised to fund much-needed infrastructure projects, including those associated with energy, water, transport, sewerage and housing, all of which are vital in supporting the development of housing, surely presents an opportunity worth exploring. Surely a way must be found in order that citizens' funds on deposit, which in many cases are earning little or no interest, can be invested in major infrastructure projects. We are grappling with the housing crisis, which is marked by increasing rents, a shortage of supply and rising homelessness. Irish deposits are an untapped resource that deserves long-term planning.

Figures from the CSO this week show that, before adjusting for seasonality and inflation, Irish households saved a whopping €8.2 billion in the first three months of this year alone. It is a staggering amount of money. Compare this with the record €5 billion allocated for housing in 2024.Irish households are saving billions which could and should be channelled into a State-backed housing and infrastructural investment scheme for the long-term gain of the State. A State-backed housing investment vehicle to allow households to invest their savings in housing developments and infrastructural projects was first put forward by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland some time ago. Such an initiative, similar to schemes already in operation in countries like France, would enable the Government of the day to put long-term, multi-annual plans in place which also facilitate investment in much-needed infrastructural projects and access to finance, especially for small and medium-sized developers for whom finance still remains a major barrier.

The State is by far the largest investor in Ireland’s housing delivery. However, the level of public investment is not sustainable in the long-term, and alternative funding streams need to be examined. My colleague, Barry Andrews MEP, having produced a policy paper back in 2023 on housing which investigated systems across the EU, came up with an option that he and many others recommend called Livret A, which is a French investment saving scheme. This scheme shows that excess household funding can be channelled into something positive. In France, almost all the people have a type of state-backed savings account. It is a tax-free way of saving money up to a maximum amount which is available through any bank and offers savers a more attractive interest rate than their usual account would do. This interest rate is significantly above that offered by the current bank. These savings are managed by a special state-investment vehicle such as a public bank. It helps finance projects that support public goals, including both infrastructural and social projects, but the largest single recipient is the French social housing model. Now, although in France, like in many other European countries, they are grappling with the housing shortage, funding, apparently, is not a problem. A savings fund of this nature could underpin long-term planning by providing the multi-annual funding commitments that housing projects and many other infrastructure projects require. It seems to me to make perfect sense that, where we have an untapped resource of €170 billion that makes no money whatsoever for Irish savers, that money could be channelled into much-needed funding for infrastructural projects we need to get up and running as soon as possible.