I thought the Deputy might grab the opportunity.
Sentiment score: 0.42
Níl aon dabht ann ach gurb í an ghéarchéim is mó atá againn sa tír seo ná an easpa tithíochta. Níl a dhóthain tithe againn. Caithfimid gach aon dícheall a dhéanamh chun i bhfad níos mó tithe a chruthú chomh tapa agus is féidir linn. Housing is the number one social priority in this country. It goes to the heart of cohesion in this country, and it is the Government's priority, as it was during the lifetime of the previous Government. During the lifetime of the previous Government, from about 2020 onwards, close to 130,000 homes were built. We exceeded our targets in Housing for All in 2022 and 2023 significantly by more than 7,400. In 2024 the target was 33,000 in Housing for All and we did not meet that target. In addition, there were estimates. Deutsche Bank predicted in excess of 40,000 houses. EY-Euroconstruct predicted 36,000 houses last July and Cairn Homes also predicted close to 40,000 houses. My commentary then was a genuine belief that we were heading for the high 30,000s. It was a genuine belief. There was no attempt to mislead anybody in that regard. I have to make that point. These were external groupings making estimates regarding the prospects for a high figure in 2024. Of course, we know that because of the initiative we took in terms of waiving development levies and so on, commencements were dramatically increased over the last year and a half in respect of that. The bottom line as far as I am concerned is that I am very disappointed with the outturn for 2024. We got the figure wrong in terms of what we thought might happen. The target was 33,000. We thought it would be much higher than that. I regret that. However, what it means is that we have to fundamentally increase that figure. All parties in the general election had figures around 50,000 per year. The ESRI is suggesting that was the average and that we need to get to 60,000 by 2030. The issue, though, is how we get the figures to that 50,000 per year. We need a fundamental shift, not just within the Government but in the Oireachtas more generally, in our approach and our attitude to private sector investment in housing. That is needed because, whether we like it or not and whether it is palatable or not, a lot of what has happened has disincentivised private investment in housing. The State is the biggest investor. We allocated €6 billion for 2025, the highest ever capital allocation to housing. The State will not be able to do it all on its own in terms of the 50,000 that people identify as our need. It may be even higher than that. Therefore, if everybody wants to be honest about figures, the issue of how we get there is the core question. When we exceeded targets in 2022 and 2023, the response from the Opposition was that the targets were too low.
Sentiment score: 0.03
No, they were not.
Sentiment score: -0.30
Clearly the targets-----
Sentiment score: 0.40
-----were realistic because targets are-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----assessed by a number of factors.
Sentiment score: 0.08
Need is a different question to target. Need relates to our population growth. We have to devise methods, mechanisms and policies that get us to what we need. I do not dispute what we need. Different parties had different programmes in the last general election.
Sentiment score: 0.22
Could I say to the Deputy that if we take the three years combined, 2022, 2023 and 2024----
Sentiment score: 0.00
----we exceeded our targets by close to 5,000 houses. That is not of interest to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: -0.18
The bottom line of the general election is that the programme Sinn Féin put forward did not persuade people. It wanted to dramatically disrupt and change the Land Development Agency.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Sinn Féin wanted to get rid of the help-to-buy scheme and the first home scheme, which are so beneficial to first-time buyers. Its programme did not persuade.
Sentiment score: 0.29
The platform as to how Sinn Féin was going to achieve a housing breakthrough or higher numbers simply did not persuade people.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The Deputy has got to acknowledge that is the reality of it. We have exceeded targets in two years. In the third year, we did not. I am extremely disappointed with that. The estimates out there from the entities I have identified were clearly pointing in a direction which did not turn out to be the case.
Sentiment score: -0.02
Stoirm uafásach a bhí ann, is dócha an ceann is measa a bhí againn riamh. Níl aon amhras faoi sin. Caithfimid a bheith an-bhuíoch do gach éinne a thug cabhair agus tacaíocht do dhaoine ar fud na tíre. This was a severe, unprecedented storm, the likes of which we have not witnessed in living memory. It caused widespread devastation throughout the country, particularly along the western seaboard and in the north west of our country. Many people have suffered a lot during this period because of power outages, lack of water and, very worryingly for many people, the collapse of the communications network as a result of the ferocity of the wind and the storm itself. It was the worst storm, I would say, in a century. The first priority of all involved in planning and of the national co-ordinating group was to protect lives. Unfortunately, we had one fatality in Kacper Dudek. There could have been many more. The red alert warning was effective and impactful, and we should never lose sight of that. There are issues we have to re-evaluate in respect of how we do the red, orange and yellow system. That is under way. In terms of the grid, I have already taken action. I met with the Minister for climate, the Department and the Tánaiste. I asked, and it is happening, that we accelerate the grid infrastructure capital plan and bring elements forward. We want that done within the next month in order that we move very fast to make the grid more resilient. I agree that the severity of storms and the frequency of such severe storms is only going to increase. In fact, if we look at the figures over the past 20 years, there is a dramatic increase in both the volume and severity of storms. We have to make our country more resilient. That will mean substantial funding for adaptation in the updated national development plan, which we need to do far more on across the board. In respect of the grid, there are some practical things we can do very quickly. We have to cut through a lot of regulatory frameworks to enable us to do that in terms of proper corridors for the grid, where we do not have trees and forests impacting on the grid as they did in this particular storm. Human safety and health have to be the priority. That is going to happen in respect of the grid. In respect of water, and I will be meeting with the utility companies in this respect, it was not good enough that Irish Water did not have generators in place at all locations. That is now happening and the same situation will not happen again.
Sentiment score: 0.02
I will say more on that if I get a chance.
Sentiment score: 0.25
There are 3,000 ESB Networks crew members, with crews from the UK, France, Finland, Germany, Austria, Norway and the Netherlands. I thank all of the 3,000 people involved in all of those crews. We can say “Do it faster" but they have been working day and night since the storm began. There is no additional capacity other than what is there in those 3,000 crew members. I think we have to pay a very strong, sincere tribute to the crews of ESB Networks and all those crews who came from overseas to help us in what was the worst storm in living memory. In the last framework for ESB Networks, the cost of the capital investment from 2020 to 2025 was about €5 billion. The estimate is that we have to go to €13 billion in the next five years. That is the level of change and investment that will be required to make our grid resilient. I am determined to do that, and this Government is determined to do that, and we will work with Deputy Bacik if she has any additional ideas in that regard.
Sentiment score: 0.14
As I have said already, housing is the number one issue. It was not, in any shape or form, a deliberate attempt to mislead people. I have quoted those who early in the year and mid-year were predicting close to 40,000, such as EY-Euroconstruct, Deutsche Bank and Cairn Homes. Others, by the way, in other years the Deputy identified, underestimated the number of houses that were subsequently built. That is something Deputy O'Callaghan has not spoken of. We exceeded our targets in 2022 and in 2023, which the Deputy dismissed at the time. The Deputy engaged in significant political commentary as opposed to at least acknowledging the fact we exceeded targets in 2022 and 2023. I also have to put it to the Deputy that, throughout the past four years, his party's policy position was to oppose significant legislation and initiatives that led to increased housing, particularly on the affordable side. They opposed the Land Development Agency Act, the Affordable Housing Act and the planning Act. You have shown no sense of urgency around the housing crisis. I believe the Deputy has been too ideologically wedded to certain fundamentals-----
Sentiment score: 0.04
-----in terms of the housing issue and the housing market.
Sentiment score: 0.00
One of the challenges we have, and it will remain a challenge irrespective of what gets said, is how we balance the unprecedented level of State investment in housing with private sector investment in housing, because if we want to get to 50,000 homes per year, we are going to have to do that. That will need fairly focused, specific change in what we have been doing. I acknowledge that. I have said we are disappointed we did not reach our targets, and I regret that very strongly, but it just redoubles my effort to have an honest look-----
Sentiment score: 0.27
-----at all of the initiatives that have happened in recent years and where we have to do more. I would respectfully suggest it is not in opposing every initiative the Government comes forward with. It is not taking safe options such as saying it all has to be social housing on one side or nothing, which delayed housing schemes-----
Sentiment score: 0.07
You did - which delayed housing schemes for years in this country. Absolute fundamentalism in respect of how things should happen has held back housing growth in this country. I am going to put it to the Deputy that we are going to take initiatives here and I would welcome his support for them, instead of what has happened over the past four years, where you have opposed every single progressive measure designed to get increased output in housing.
Sentiment score: 0.41
First of all, as I said to the Deputy, and I will say again, there was no attempt to mislead the public on this. That is the first point. I will make another point. We used ESRI data for our election targets in housing, which the Deputy's party did and everybody did. The fundamental question is how the targets are achieved. That is the core question. What the Social Democrats put forward on its election manifesto and programme did not persuade people that it had a silver bullet on housing because it did not. I met with the Social Democrats and the Labour Party during talks on the formation of Government and you were extremely poor in terms of what you brought forward: no fleshing out-----
Sentiment score: -0.04
One of your main contributions to that meeting, and I remember it well, was you looking at your watch: nudge, nudge, time to get out to make the 6 o'clock news for the soundbite. That was your contribution to Government talks.
Sentiment score: 0.14
That is what happened. We saw it on our side: nudge, nudge, look at the watch, we better get out and get the 6 o'clock news.
Sentiment score: 0.22
The Social Democrats had no commitment to going into Government.
Sentiment score: 0.10