As I have said repeatedly, before the previous Government came to office, approximately 19,000 to 20,000 houses were being built per annum. It is now well over 30,000 houses, which is a significant change in momentum. This is mainly because of State investment at an unprecedented scale. We have a clear focus in terms of what we need to do. It is in terms of maintaining and increasing public expenditure but also getting far more private sector investment involved. With the greatest respect, this is a very serious issue. I felt that Sinn Féin's policies were all over the place and so did the people.
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I want to put the focus on-----
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When we bring proposals, however, to the House-----
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We will be bringing forward a series of proposals - the decision yesterday on planning was a good one - and further initiatives on housing. I hope we will get the support of the House as we implement those decisions.
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Non-governmental organisations are there for legitimate reasons and are entitled to advocate. However, just because they say something, we should not, herd-like, all agree with what they say. We need more intelligent and informed debate. The Deputy referred to the Fianna Fáil housing Department. The Environmental Protection Agency completed a consultation on characterising heavily modified water bodies in 2022. The Department then conducted an eight-week consultation on designating heavily modified water bodies, which closed on 23 May. This is well known; it was a public consultation. The Deputy said it just emerged. It did not just emerge; it was a public consultation. The concept has been misinterpreted. It does not condemn any water body to a decline in water quality. The modifications proposed for designation are in place to support stipulated specified uses, namely drinking water supplies, flood protection, land drainage and navigation. It is not a lower standard that is the objective; it is a more realistic target accounting for the modifications necessary to provide a societal benefit from their specified use.
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Standing back from it all and looking at pre-1990 levels, Ireland has made significant progress.
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I am not. The Deputy needs to open up and engage with the public out there. This has been a problem.
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We have to bring people with us. I was a member of the Government that brought in the toughest and most stringent climate Act. The previous Government did that.
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Let us not lecture each other on this. The bottom line is that the population has grown exponentially. Economic growth has been quite exponential over the past decade. Notwithstanding that, there was a quite significant reduction in Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions over that period. That is all I am saying. Let us not deny that either. There is an enormous challenge to get to the 2030 target, and we need to get there. Last week, for example, I met farmers who are making extraordinary efforts at individual farm level.
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The Deputy would seek to undermine their position even more.
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Deputy, I know you would eliminate Irish agriculture if you had your way; you do not believe in it.
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You would; that is your position.
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More or less, that is what you would do. The bottom line is that the most recent emissions inventory report from April of this year shows a reduction of 6.8% in Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions in 2023. That is compared with 2022, which saw a 1.9% reduction. This is the lowest our greenhouse gas emissions have been in three decades, so the Government is making progress. The Deputy may argue that it is not to the level we need to get there by 2030. However, the impact on society is significant. Let us not underestimate that. We have to bring people with us. The most effective thing we can do is with renewables. The various NGOs that people quote are invariably proposing a tax on wind farms. There will be objections to wind farms, environmental assessments for wind farms and requests for further information, which there have been and which will delay some of them by a further 18 months.
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I thank the Deputy for raising the specifics of the application of the first home scheme in a given area where prices are increasing. I acknowledge the point he makes. I will talk to the Minister for housing in respect of the thresholds issue. The first home scheme has been very effective and impactful so far for many people, notwithstanding that many in the House would abolish it, as has the help to buy scheme. However, I acknowledge that, particularly in Dublin and the big cities, prices are continuing to increase because we do not have sufficient supply. We need to get more houses built.
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-----in order that we would have car-free days?
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It is very clear that following his cycle in this morning the Deputy is in robust health and raring to go.
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That is an innovative idea-----
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-----in terms of Bogotá and so on. A local authority should initiate a pilot. Up to two to three years ago, cars were being driven up and down the marina in Cork. Now it is a promenade. That was beautifully done as part of the active travel programme. Bar one or two residents who have to use cars there, it is a walking area. The transformation has been quite amazing. People still have to get to work and do all those sorts of things. A council should be asked to pilot what the Deputy proposes and come back to the central authorities to see if any supports are required. There are aspects of it that could be introduced.
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I thank Deputy McCarthy for raising the issue of Shanagarry, which is famed for its pottery and so on. I will raise the issue with Uisce Éireann. There is a town and villages scheme, as the Deputy knows, that had limitations regarding funding. There is engagement, and a memorandum is being worked up, it is my understanding, by Irish Water in respect of local developers that are developing a particular housing site being in a position to develop its own wastewater treatment plant in accordance with the specifications laid down by Uisce Éireann and then to be inspected thereafter. However, it cannot be the case that villages are just left with no proactive engagement with them, given the plight in which they find themselves.
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I can recall two years ago when Sinn Féin was arguing and advocating very strongly that Government would do more to provide accommodation for those seeking asylum.
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That was Sinn Féin's position then and Government did respond to its advocacy and others', and the international law, in terms of procuring services. The Department of children had to procure services in an accelerated way. The cost of those services is expensive. There is no question about that. In fact, Government is legally vulnerable if it does not provide such services or such supports, which Sinn Féin argued very strongly for.
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I know now Sinn Féin has changed tack a bit and is moving in a different direction. I understand that. Politics is always supreme with it, but I-----
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I am not commenting on individuals.
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I am not allowed to comment on individuals in the House-----
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-----and nor should the Deputy.
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I do not know the case.
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Government did a lot over the last number of years in respect of a whole series of reforms that were implemented in respect of insurance. Some premia came down; some have gone back up again. There is an onus on the insurance industry to respond to the reforms that the Government delivered with a view to reducing costs. The Government has re-established the subcommittee on insurance. The Minister of State, Deputy Troy, is involved in that with others. We will pursue further reforms. I have to say that Government can pursue reforms and we have to engage, but the industry has to respond as well. There is a broader issue in terms of more competition and, in my view, opening up the European market more to create that competition.
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Is this a private sector project the Deputy is talking about?
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No, the ISIF is-----
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I am all for that. We are all for that, and the Government has done a lot on promoting policies in terms of investment in film through our tax incentives and so on. The ISIF invests commercially. It is not equivalent to the Government giving grants or anything like that. It weighs up commercial criteria and decides to invest on the basis of that, and that is a good thing. It has obviously worked with this particular project. I am not familiar with the background reasons as to why the project has not proceeded at this stage or is not proceeding. Perhaps the Deputy might be able to give me some background later on in respect of that.
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I thank the Deputy and appreciate the compliments he articulated in respect of the local authority being co-operative and proactive in terms of taking in charge unfinished estates. Where positive comments are made in respect of the performance of a local authority, that needs to be said, rather than just criticisms. I take the Deputy's point. We need to review the interaction between Uisce Éireann and local authorities. While I understand on one level Uisce Éireann's focus on large conurbations, the bottom line is that the entire country needs to be serviced as well. That is part of the remit that local authorities, prior to the formation of Uisce Éireann, had and initiated. We have to examine the entire area again.
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Yesterday, Deputy Brendan Smith raised issues pertaining to the submission made by the Irish Wheelchair Association, and I responded to some aspects of that. Deputy Ward is focusing more on transport issues.
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The Minister for disability and equality brought forward proposals yesterday to transpose the EU directive on access, which is an important directive in respect of the access people with disabilities have to public transport in particular. That is something we are going to progress very quickly. There have been improvements. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has been working with Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann in respect of access to public transport and he has reached agreement with them. This is something that has the attention of Government. On the broader question, we will look to the budget to see what we can do in terms of income supports for people with disabilities or how we can improve upon the existing payments already in place.
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I will speak to the relevant Minister and Minister of State about engaging with the local community. It is appalling that a thousand acres would be destroyed. I am not sure what the cause was, but destruction like this affects a variety of activities, including wildlife and biodiversity. I am aware there were also certain types of farming activity on that land. It shows the absolute necessity for safety and preventing such devastating fires from happening across the countryside. We have had one too many in the country in the past number of years.
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I will ask the Minister. I have been a supporter of the move of youth back into the Department of education and was involved in that in the programme for Government talks. When I was Minister for Education and Science, youth affairs was part of the Department. The VECs, in particular, did very good work with various youth organisations. I would like to see the ETBs continue that sort of work. There is a continuum between education and youth and an area between the two. Youthreach programmes have been developed. We get a better kind of holistic approach to the development of young people, so I think it is a good thing. I will ask the Minister to reply to the Deputy regarding the opportunities he mentioned.
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I appreciate the Deputy's persistent focus on this issue and his advocacy for emergency care in the mid-west. I do not have the details yet in terms of the timeline of the HIQA report, but I will talk to the Minister and alert her to the fact that the Deputy has raised this issue. I will say in passing that it is extremely important that we continue to develop the first-responder capacity all over the country, particularly in the rural areas the Deputy identified, because it is the first responder who has the critical interaction that can save a life, be it in a cardiac arrest situation, an accident or whatever. Notwithstanding that, a report has been commissioned and I will try to get a timeline for the Deputy.
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