Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet next. [36562/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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2. To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will meet next. [36723/24]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

The Cabinet committee on housing last met on Thursday, 11 July. The next meeting of the Cabinet committee will take place shortly. I believe it will be at the start of October. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and programme for Government commitments regarding housing. The significant uplift in the supply of new homes in 2022 and 2023 has continued this year. More than 12,700 new homes were completed in the first half of the year - I think the figure is 12,730 - with independent analysis forecasting delivery of between 35,000 and 40,000 new homes in 2024. The Government still expects to deliver nearly 40,000 homes this year.

The future delivery pipeline is also strong. Construction started on almost 50,000 new homes - 49,613, to be specific - in the 12 months to the end of July. Commencements in the first seven months of this year alone are up over 90% on the same period last year. Planning permission was granted for almost 38,000 new homes in the year to end quarter 1 2024, with figures for quarter 2 expected later this week. There are 25,000 new social homes at various stages of design and construction.

On the planning reform agenda, the Planning and Development Bill will return to this House in early October for Final Stage. I think it will go before the Seanad next week. The Bill, once enacted, will enable house building at scale and the development of critical infrastructure at pace. On State lands, I will officially open the first new social and affordable homes at Shanganagh Castle estate later this week. This joint partnership between the Land Development Agency and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council will deliver almost 600 new social and affordable homes once complete.

Earlier this month, in another important partnership, the LDA and Dublin City Council received planning permission for more than 700 new homes in Cherry Orchard. Many more large-scale housing developments will proceed to planning or construction before the end of the year and in the time ahead. The Government's Housing for All plan is supporting first-time buyers across the country. First-time buyer mortgage data shows that almost 15,000 approvals and over 11,200 drawdowns, respectively, were recorded in the first half of this year. In a further demonstration of our commitment to first-time buyers, last week we pledged a further €100 million to the first home scheme. Since its launch, 5,400 individuals and couples have availed of the scheme. There were over 1,600 approvals in the first half of this year, which is an increase of 42% compared to the same six months last year. So far in 2024, there have been 5,882 claims under the help-to-buy scheme, an increase of 23% on the same period in 2023. It is interesting to see what today's Central Bank report states about the importance of that scheme in terms of assisting first-time buyers.

Tackling vacancy and dereliction is a continuing focus under Housing for All. More than 9,600 applications have been received for the vacant property refurbishment grant, with more than 6,300 approved and 730 grant drawdowns following completion of works to date. Work is well advanced on revised Housing for All targets for 2025 onwards, consistent with the draft revised national planning framework. These revised targets, averaging over 50,000 new homes per year, will be published in the coming weeks, together with an annual update on the Housing for All action plan, which will be focused on scaling up delivery to achieve these higher targets. The update will also take account of the analysis under way by the Housing Agency of the Housing Commission's recommendations. In advance of the update, I look forward to details of the housing package being announced as part of budget 2025 on this day in two weeks.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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As there are quite a number of speakers, they will each have a minute and a half.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am taking this question on behalf of Deputy McDonald. The Taoiseach will accept that it has been difficult time for supporters of Dundalk Football Club. I wish the new consortium led by John Temple, which has taken over the club, well. We are at the beginning of a process. Dundalk FC could have gone to the wall, which would have impacted on the integrity of the entire league. There needs to be engagement with the FAI and the League of Ireland to make sure this does not happen again.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The Deputy's minute and a half is up.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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According to the Housing Commission report, we need at least 300,000 new homes in the next five years, which is an average of 60,000 per year. Has the Taoiseach or the Minister for housing met the Housing Commission or do they have plans to meet it? Have they sought a briefing from the commission or its officials on its report? Does the Taoiseach accept the report's two key recommendations? The report was brought out by the Government. The Taoiseach's commentary and even the national planning framework refer to 50,000 new homes, while the Central Bank of Ireland has given a figure of 52,000. Does the Taoiseach accept that much of this is superseded by the findings and recommendations of the Housing Commission?

I appreciate that the Minister for housing came back to me with regard to Cois Farraige in Dundalk. They did not accept that we need to look at the criteria, but we do.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta. We are way over time.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the fact that an affordable purchase scheme will be carried out, but the criteria regarding affordable housing need to be looked at. A price of €305,000 for a house in Dundalk is not affordable.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Central Bank has followed the Housing Commission in telling us that our housing needs are twice - maybe more than twice - what Housing for All projected them to be. That is how inadequate the Housing for All plan is. To meet these targets, we have to double housing output. In particular, we have to dramatically increase the social and affordable housing component of that because what the market is delivering is completely unaffordable for probably the majority of working people in this country. How on earth are we going to do that? How are we going to get to that level - we have no choice but to do so as otherwise we are facing a pretty grim future in terms of the housing crisis - when the construction capacity of private firms simply cannot do it? Even Goodbody stockbrokers, as I raised with the Taoiseach previously, has indicated that only a small number of firms can deliver houses on a large scale. I put it to the Taoiseach that we need a State construction company. Some of the money we now have from Apple and the big surpluses and so on that we have should be used as seed capital for a State construction company to build that housing. Whatever we think ideologically about private or public, the private sector does not have the capacity to do that. The State has to develop its own construction capacity in order to deliver that scale of social and affordable housing.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Did the Taoiseach just drop a rather large hint as to the timing of a general election?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I do not think so.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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The Central Bank stated this morning that the number of housing completions by the end of this year will be 32,000. The Taoiseach came in and told the House that the Central Bank is wrong and the number of housing completions will be 40,000. If a general election is held in February of next year, the likelihood is that before it is held, the Taoiseach will have been shown to be wrong. It will have been shown that the Government's housing policy has failed and the Government has failed in the targets it has stretched out. It will be a real embarrassment to the Taoiseach on the number one issue at the centre of that election. However, if an election is held in November, it will be the Taoiseach's word against the Central Bank's word. I think the Taoiseach has dropped rather a large hint because the Government will not reach the figure of 40,000.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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I want to ask the Taoiseach about stamp duty and the bulk purchasing of homes. There have been multiple instances of funds buying up housing estates. Earlier this year, 85% of homes in Belcamp Manor were snapped up by one fund. At the time, the Government agreed to review the ineffective 10% stamp duty rate on the bulk purchase of homes. That review has been concluded. The Taoiseach's colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Neale Richmond, said he would like to see the rate doubled. The Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, said he was surprised at these comments. What is the Government's position on this? Has it made up its mind? When will it act by increasing the stamp duty rate on the bulk purchase of homes to a level that would effectively ban the bulk purchasing of homes?

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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In 2015, I proposed a Private Members' motion calling on the Government to accept the Apple tax billions and to spend them on building social and affordable housing to solve the housing crisis. At the time, I told the House the resources existed and it was a question of political prioritisation to end the homelessness and housing crisis over Apple not paying any tax. Back then, there were 1,571 homeless children growing up in emergency accommodation. Today, there are approximately 4,500 children in that situation. The Taoiseach was in government then too and he voted against my motion. I want to ask the Taoiseach now, after the European Court of Justice ruling, whether he regrets that decision. Does he regret throwing away a golden opportunity to solve the housing crisis ten years ago before it escalated into the catastrophe it is now? Will he commit to spending the Apple tax billions on building social and affordable housing now?

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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There are 4,000 local authority homes in the State that are empty. That is an incredible figure. It takes eight months on average to get these local authority homes back into use. Many of them are empty for well over a year. It takes three weeks for private rental accommodation to come back into use. The difference is that private landlords cannot leave their accommodation empty for eight months. I have no doubt some of the local authority homes may be used for a longer period and therefore may need more renovation, but none of that makes up for the massive difference. If the same timescale was being used for local authority homes, 3,500 of those homes would be in use today. Believe it or not, that would accommodate the 14,500 people in the State who are currently homeless.

In addition, 90,000 private homes are empty and the Government is giving grants to get these empty homes back into use. However, it is only providing three, four or five grants per month. It will take 1,350 years at this rate to get all of those homes back into use. Where is the urgency with regard to getting local authority homes and private homes that are empty back into use? We need to sweat the assets that exist here to make sure people have homes. Having empty homes in the middle of a housing crisis is the equivalent of sending food out of the country in the middle of a famine.

Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent)
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I appeal to Government to consider a ban on no-fault evictions. I have looked at the research on rental markets. I heard the Tánaiste say there is fear that this would shrink the rental market but the evidence indicates that it would help to grow the rental market. That fear is unfounded.

There were only 35 exits from homelessness in County Clare in the period from 15 June to 22 August. There are huge capacity issues and the local authority is saying that demand for accommodation in the county is too high. Over 100 households are overstaying with family. As a result of the lack of legislation to recognise that they are homeless, they are not being prioritised. What happens is that all of the households are treated as one household, which affects social welfare entitlements, never mind the disproportionate impact it has on relationships. There is also a delay in people accessing their white goods grants. This is preventing people from exiting homelessness. I cannot get people into emergency accommodation. I have a number of cases where people have been sleeping in their cars for longer than three weeks. I have talked about the cold weather initiative and the likelihood that it will be opened up, but there is no willingness to do so at this point for the individuals in question. I am dealing with one case involving a lady who is six months pregnant and due to give birth in December. Will the Taoiseach consider banning no-fault evictions?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank colleagues for their questions. In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, I send Dundalk Football Club my best as well.

In relation to the Housing Commission, I have obviously been briefed on the report by the Minister for housing. The Housing Agency is now working its way through each of the recommendations. I look forward to the report being debated in the House. We should find time to debate it. I do not believe there will be political consensus on every element of it and I am not sure there is a political grouping in the House that would agree with every element of it. However, there are very good things in it and we need to thrash that out in advance of the publication of the updated version of Housing for All later this year. There is now a consensus that we need higher housing targets. The debate we will have is on how to deliver them and the credibility behind each plan to deliver them as well. On the Dundalk housing project the Deputy raised, I am pleased there was contact but I will follow up on that again.

Deputy Boyd Barrett spoke about the inadequacy of Housing for All. I would argue that Housing of All has got us to a point where there are very significant increases in supply. I accept, however, that we will have to increase again the targets we need to reach. The Deputy is correct that whether one looks at the Central Bank of Ireland's report, the ESRI, the Housing Commission or the views of political parties right across the spectrum, there is a consensus around the need to increase supply. The question is how we will fund that and create the capacity.

When it comes to the Apple tax, investing it in infrastructure, which includes housing, is a good way of considering how to spend it. Looking at how we deploy the sale of bank shares and the like - there is a significant amount of uncommitted resources in the ISIF - is another good way of going about that. These will be matters for budget day and beyond. We have the Land Development Agency as a vehicle, from a State point of view, for trying to make progress. From a capacity point of view, if there are capacity constraints in the economy in general in terms of workforce and public versus private, those capacity constraints are there.

I do not think I dropped any hints but I thank Deputy Barry for looking out for them. I certainly did not say the Central Bank was wrong. What I said was the Central Bank gives forecasts and that last year and the year before that, we significantly exceeded the forecasts. The Deputy will acknowledge that is a statement of fact. I put the figures on the record earlier. The Central Bank published its quarter 3 quarterly bulletin in quarter 3 of 2022 and its quarter 3 quarterly bulletin last year. In both of those bulletins, it predicted a number and we exceeded those numbers. I predict we will do the same based on information given to me by the Department of housing. The Deputy should not read too much into my comments.

In response to Deputy Cian O'Callaghan on stamp duty and the bulk buying of homes, some of the measures we have taken have had an effect. I can point to some of the planning changes we have had which have made sure that lots of homes were made available for owner occupiers. The stamp duty measure was important but we should constantly review it to make sure it is having the desired policy effect. Any changes we wish to make in this area, whether to stamp duty or on other issues to do with bulk buying, will be a matter for budget day. To answer the Deputy's question on when the Government will decide, it is our intention to do so on budget day.

In response to Deputy Paul Murphy, I do not accept that there were delays with accepting the Apple money because Apple was always going to contest this case. The question was whether the Government wished to stand by the independence of our revenue system. I do not believe the argument that if the Government of the day did not join the case, the case would have ended more quickly and, therefore, the money would have been available more quickly. We now have finality in relation to the issue. The court has given its final word. That is it, and now these resources are available. It is now a question of how we best deploy them. I do not believe, however, that it would have been made available to the Irish public quicker if the Government had not joined the case because Apple was always making the case.

Deputy Tóibín and I do not agree on everything but I must say I agree with him on the matter he raised. He made a logical point and he has made it to me in this House previously. I give him a commitment that I will come back to him in relation to it. There will always be a time lag, as the Deputy correctly said, and there will be reasons, good reasons on occasion, that it may take longer in the public sector than in the private sector but the reasons are not good enough to bridge that gap. The Deputy made a constructive suggestion and I thank him for it. I will come back to him directly and speak to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on it.

In response to Deputy Wynne, we do not have a plan to reintroduce the ban on no-fault evictions currently. I will not get into the debate in the time available. However, we saw homeless numbers rise when we had the ban on no-fault evictions in place. I take seriously the issues the Deputy raised in relation to County Clare and the constructive suggestions she made regarding the cold weather initiative. I will ask the Department of housing to engage with the Deputy and Clare County Council on these matters.