I reassert the Government's commitment and determination to tackle the challenges that exist in our housing sector. We understand the need to ensure that sufficient numbers of homes are delivered, be they social, affordable or private, and that is why we are working tirelessly to address the blockages that exist and to implement policies that make a positive difference to supply. While there is still much to do, the motion initiated this evening by Sinn Féin Deputies does not fairly represent the efforts and progress made to date. The Government has, therefore, tabled a counter-motion to reflect its position and the positive actions that continue to be taken. It is important that I reiterate the real progress that has been made in recent years, as outlined by the Minister, Deputy James Browne, in his opening statement, including those relating to social and affordable housing delivery, and to set out the key changes introduced and our plans ahead to scale up the supply of housing across all tenure types. Some 52,300 social homes were delivered between July 2020 and quarter 3 of 2025. The quarter 4 data will be published soon and will show continued strong performance. Over 14,100 homes have been brought back into use under the voids programme. More than 18,900 affordable housing supports had been provided by quarter 3 of 2025, increasing home ownership for families and ordinary workers. Over the past five years, almost 149,000 new homes have been delivered in this country. This is significant progress, which the Opposition motion ignores. Of course, we know that we need to do more. The Government has implemented a range of measures to ensure a balanced housing market across all tenure types. In May 2021, conscious of the need to increase stock for home ownership, the Government introduced a series of measures designed to prevent bulk buying of houses and duplexes. A higher stamp duty of 10% was introduced where ten or more houses are acquired within a 12-month period. That rate was increased to 15% in budget 2025. The section 28 guidance for planning authorities on the regulation of commercial institutional investment in housing aimed to prevent multiple housing and duplex units being sold to a single buyer. These guidelines seek to provide an owner-occupier guarantee by ensuring that new own-door houses and duplex units in lower density housing developments should no longer be bulk-purchased by institutional investors in a manner that causes the displacement of individual purchasers or social and affordable housing, including cost rental. This measure does not apply to housing to be provided for social and affordable housing purposes or apartments. It should be recognised that through this measure, we have succeeded in preventing the inappropriate bulk purchase of a significant number of homes and securing those homes for purchase by homeowners. From May 2021 to the end of last year, a total estimate of almost 64,000 houses and duplex units have received planning permission with a condition restricting bulk purchase or multiple sales to a single purchaser. The trend in the bulk acquisition of houses is down significantly since 2023 and this will continue in the time ahead because of the owner-occupier guarantee, which we, as a Government, introduced. It is the case that the bulk purchase of houses referenced in the motion before us relates to residual planning permissions that were received before May 2021, of which there are now a significantly reduced number. Indeed, it is a fact that institutional investors are now net sellers of properties in Ireland. Housing delivery at scale and pace requires us to stimulate supply in the housing market. It is not something that any one sector, agency or profession can deliver in isolation. It depends on partnership between central and local government, between the public and private sectors, between planners, developers, infrastructure providers, financiers and communities themselves. The Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, recognises this and expects that all people and organisations will play their part in delivering the homes we need and tackling the challenges we face in housing today. The State will support the wider use of standardised designs across the public and private sectors to promote efficient delivery and will drive the adoption of efficient and innovative construction practices, as well as the use of modern methods of construction, at a greatly increased scale to build a more resilient, effective and efficient sector. To achieve the delivery of 300,000 new homes under the Delivering Homes, Building Communities action plan, we will require an estimated €20 billion of development finance per year as we all recognise that level of investment is sought in a highly competitive international environment. One of the key challenges identified is apartment viability. As part of Delivering Homes, Building Communities, Government has introduced a suite of complementary measures, including the introduction of a 9% VAT rate on the sale of apartments, which the Opposition opposed, with the sole aim of increasing viability. A fourth call for expressions of interest under the croí conaithe cities scheme was introduced in July of last year and it is helping activate thousands of planning permissions for apartments in our five cities. The housing activation office was established in April of last year to accelerate homebuilding by unblocking infrastructure delays and co-ordinating investment in servicing zoned land. The office supports public infrastructure planning and investment for the delivery of new sustainable communities and transport-orientated development. The office, which will be headed up by a new deputy secretary general for housing activation, has undertaken both formal and informal engagement with various stakeholders to identify and address infrastructure barriers to housing delivery and to develop a co-ordinated programme of investment with key infrastructure agencies and the local government sector. Last month the Government announced a new multi-annual €1 billion housing infrastructure investment fund to support direct investment in housing-enabling infrastructure. The new fund will be managed by the housing activation office and will complement investment by infrastructure agencies such as Uisce Éireann and ESB Networks as part of a more co-ordinated approach. It will focus on projects that can move quickly at scale because we want strong, deliverable projects that can hit the ground running and start unblocking housing delivery immediately. Before I reference the investment in housing in the context of the national development plan, there are a couple of planning matters some Deputies have referenced this evening. It is important to note all local authorities, with the exception of the Cork authorities, which are moving to it shortly, now have eplanning in place and over 80% of applications are being made online. References to truckloads of paper being required for planning applications are therefore no longer valid. Of course I want to see a reduced number of judicial reviews, as Deputies have referenced, but it is important to note in the context of the comment on the slowest planning process, that all LRD applications for housing of 100 units or more have all been disposed of by An Coimisiún Pleanála in less than 16 weeks and the cases the commission has on hand have reduced from a high of 3,700 in May 2024 to 1,300 cases last month. In the context of investment in housing, the national development plan indicates we will spend €102 billion over the next five years. Some €40 billion of this funding will be provided for housing and related water services to 2030. This demonstrates how seriously we as a Government are treating this matter. The funding will support vital water infrastructure projects and address historical bottlenecks in the system. In 2026 alone we will see overall capital funding of just over €9 billion for housing, so contrary to what the Opposition is saying here the State is the single biggest investor in housing in the country. We as a Government recognise we have to accelerate the delivery of homes. This will require unlocking additional land through zoning and through our local authorities and removing structural barriers to the building of homes whether those are due to the planning system, infrastructure or land availability. It also means providing a record level of investment, which we are doing as a Government. It also means appealing to those who are objecting to housing to take a look at the wider good, the common good and the need that is out there before they make an objection to housing. I say that to every Member of this Chamber, be they in government or opposition. Objecting to housing at a time of such need is simply madness.

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