Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)

I thank all of the Senators who contributed to the debate this evening. It is great to see that there is widespread support for the legislation here, as there was in the Dáil, and for good reason. There is a general acknowledgement of the need for local authorities and approved housing bodies to get access to this extra finance in order to ramp up supply and deliver much-needed homes.

Some very valid points were made during the course of the debate. Senator Flaherty referred to vacancy, an issue that is very close to his heart. Longford County Council has certainly shown that it can get bang for its buck and that is something I will bring back to the Minister, Deputy Browne, in the context of making extra funding available. I thank Senators Murphy and Kelleher for highlighting what appears to be an anomaly with regard to the exclusion of the technological universities. However, I am assured that this issue is being looked at and a feasibility study will be carried out to determine whether the technological universities can be brought into the fold. If they were so allowed, I can imagine the great work they would do in terms of delivering student accommodation on the ground.

I appreciate the support expressed by Senator Collins from her side of the House for this legislation. In terms of housing solutions, as I have always said and as I repeated in the Dáil recently, we will take on board any ideas in the context of formulating the new housing plan, which is imminent. We know that people are leaving our shores. The Senator alluded to the numbers in Australia and I am sure that housing affordability is contributing to that.However, it should be acknowledged that people are returning in quite significant numbers, certainly those of my generation and those who are a little younger. I cannot speak of being younger anymore but I do see younger people coming back. That has to be acknowledged because it implies Ireland is seen as an exciting and really good place to live and, in particular, raise a family.

In fairness to Senator Fitzpatrick, her contribution to housing policy has been immense over recent years. She knows it back to front and inside out. It is worth reminding people about the number of houses that have been delivered and the acceleration of housing delivery in recent times. This legislation will help in that regard.

As outlined in my opening remarks, the singular purpose of the Bill is to increase the HFA statutory borrowing limit from €12 billion to €13.5 billion. By doing so, AHBs, local authorities and higher education institutions will continue to be supported by the HFA in its work to deliver more housing. The HFA has a proven body of expertise and an established record of accomplishment in raising and providing long-term competitive rate finance for housing purposes in a cost-effective manner, built up over 20 years. This Bill will enable the agency to continue to meet its increasing lending requirements.

The Government remains fully committed to delivering more homes across the various tenures to truly meet the scale of housing demand. Since I came into office, I have noted many of the suggestions made by Senators on how we can accelerate housing supply, provide more homes for people, ensure people have security of tenure and make significant dents in homelessness figures. While work on the new national housing plan nears completion, we will continue to progress critical reforms that will make a difference. Following the publication of the new national housing plan, the HFA will assess its long-term strategy and statutory borrowing limit requirements while at the same time evolving its own capacity and ability to meet the growing demand for its services in a well-managed way.

As mentioned in my opening statement, budget 2026 reinforces the Government's commitment to boosting housing supply, with total Exchequer funding of over €7.21 billion being made available for the delivery of housing programmes. The targeted delivery in 2026 builds on the very significant progress already achieved in the delivery of social, affordable and cost-rental homes, and this has made a huge difference to the lives of individuals and families through providing good-quality homes and contributing to sustainable communities across the country. Having secured the increased level of investment will support the achievement of our programme for Government commitments and offer confidence in meeting our ambitious targets.

The Bill before the House is important. It will enable the HFA to continue to meet its increasing lending requirements in this transitional period, thereby supporting continued momentum in the delivery of more social and cost-rental homes at a time when they are required more than ever. As the role of the HFA evolves in supporting the Government's ambitious housing delivery plans for the period to 2030, its new corporate plan will outline its future statutory borrowing limit requirements and set out how the organisation must evolve its capacity and ability to meet this demand in a well-managed way. The Bill ensures the continued operation of the HFA, a body that will continue to make a tangible difference to the lives of tens of thousands of people by providing good-quality homes and sustainable communities across the country.

I have listened carefully and with genuine interest to the contributions made by Senators during this Second Stage discussion. I thank them for those contributions and their support in general for the Bill. I commend the Bill to the House.