I begin by welcoming the British ambassador, H.E. Ms Kara Owens, to Leinster House. I wish her and all at the British embassy a very happy Christmas. I look forward to working with them, as our nearest and closest neighbours, in the time ahead. I join with my colleague, Deputy Timmins, in welcoming the sixth year history class students from Blessington Community College, County Wicklow, who are in the Visitors Gallery today. We look forward to progress on their much-awaited major school capital project in the time ahead. In the spirit of Christmas, I join with Deputy Doherty in wishing you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and every Member of the House, their families and everybody who works in the House a very happy Christmas. I particularly thank all of the people who are behind the scenes but who work so hard, the staff who keep the place running, day in, day out - the ushers, the clerks, the secretaries, the chefs, the gardaí, the cleaners and so many people who think their work goes unseen. I want them to know that we see it, and we appreciate it as well. Christmas is a time of great excitement for children and a time of great celebration and joy for many. It is also a time when those experiencing grief and trauma can find it particularly lonely and painful. This Christmas, I think of all of those who find the Christmas period difficult. I wish everybody a happy break. Nollaig shona daoibh go léir. I thank Deputy Doherty. I wish him a good break too, and I look forward to normal back-and-forth commencing in January. In relation to the ESRI report today, first, I welcome the report. We should take its advice very seriously. Of course, it does not just say what Deputy Doherty says it says, because it says quite a few things. It is very much ad idem with the Government on the need for a massive capital injection and acceleration of housing supply. It talks about the importance of delivering and implementing our infrastructure reforms as key enablers to deliver the housing. It also talks about the Irish economy continuing to perform robustly, and the fact that there will be more jobs in Ireland in 2026 than there were in 2025. It absolutely does highlight the need to do more in relation to housing. I should say, in case Deputy Doherty did not hear it, that the author of the report was on “Morning Ireland” this morning. In relation to the disposable incomes question, he made the very clear point, which I would echo, that when we look at the fact that wages are growing in Ireland, and, thankfully, on average, wages are finally growing ahead of prices, that will have a positive impact on people's spending power and ability in 2026. That is not just my view. It is the view of my Department. It is the view of the ESRI. Yes, we have had to disentangle one-off measures. Yes, we have had to get back to a normal budget period. Yes, we cannot have a situation where we are running two budgets every year. One budget each year and to make progress over five budgets is what we have to do. Wages are now rising faster than prices for the first time in quite a while. That will help consumers. It will help families. It is one of the reasons that, in the ESRI report today, it is expecting consumer spending to grow further in 2026, even though it has already grown in 2025. Housing remains the biggest challenge this country faces, of that there is no doubt. We are working to fix housing once and for all. We actually have to do it rather than just make barbs. That is perhaps the difference between us and you. It is why we have already taken a number of steps, extended the lifetime of planning permissions and brought in measures to make developments viable again which Sinn Féin opposes at each and every opportunity. It is why even today the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, has signed an order to continue planning exemptions for the conversion of vacant commercial properties into homes, extending it to 2028 before making it ultimately a permanent exemption. We have seen some encouraging figures. Yes, there are too many people in box bedrooms, of that there is no doubt, but completions are up. The latest CSO figures released only on 23 October showed 9,235 new dwellings completed in July, August and September, a rise of 4%. We saw 24,325 new dwellings completed in the first three quarters of the year, up 13% on the same period last year. More apartments have been completed this year than last year. Figures from the CSO last week show a very significant increase in planning permissions. There is a lot of work to do but there are more first-time buyers - talking about people living in box bedrooms - drawing down mortgages now than at any time in recent years, up 22% year on year.
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That is not true.
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That is not true.
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You went into last year's election promising people an average €300,000 home in Dublin, but you could not tell us how you were going to pay for it or make it happen. We are all working to try to improve the housing situation. Here are some facts: planning permissions are up this year and last year; there have been more first-time buyers this year than last year; and there have been more home completions so far this year than last year. These are positive signs that the investment this State is making, coupled with the reforms in infrastructure delivery, are delivering more homes for our people. Yes, there is much more to do. That is why James Browne and I are working to have an equity finance scheme working with ISIF and Irish banks to make more loans available for small builders; it is why we are changing how water treatment facilities can be delivered by allowing developers to deliver them for small schemes in rural Ireland; it is why we have a new national planning framework; and it is why we brought forward an accelerating infrastructure task force with radical recommendations to deliver infrastructure in a faster way. Yes, there is a lot more work to do on housing but as we end 2025, it is a statement of fact that planning permissions are up, completions are up and the number of first-time buyers is up this year on last year.
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That is positive news.
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House prices are still too high. While we have seen some signs of moderation-----
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-----the way we need to drive them down and see further progress is with more supply which is priority number one for this Government.
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I thank Deputy O'Callaghan. I wish him, his family, his Social Democrats colleagues and everybody a happy Christmas. I think the broadcasting issue he mentioned is a matter for the Oireachtas rather than directly a matter for the Government. As the leader of a political party in the Oireachtas, I am happy to engage with other parties in relation to the issue of the Oireachtas broadcast workers. It is hard to disagree with the Deputy's analysis of the situation. I would be happy to have follow-up conversations with him on that. When you started doing the report card and you said you were going to do achievements and critiques, I thought you would give us a few on the plus side. Considering you did not, I will mention one or two. We have delivered in less than a year of the Government being in office a record national development plan of €275.4 billion that can be invested in projects across the country that will protect our country now and into the future, planning reform, rent protection nationwide, expansion of vacant property grants, free schoolbooks, hot school meals, funding for DEIS plus to help our most vulnerable children, the national broadband plan rolled out ahead of time and on budget, surgical hubs, free HRT and the national education therapy service now established. I wanted to reference some of them to balance the ledger. The Deputy is also right to highlight this Christmas that there are still far too many people who are homeless in this country, and particularly far too many children. We had a meeting of the Cabinet committee on housing this week. At it, we heard directly from the CCMA, the representative group with responsibility for representing chief executives of local authorities. I specifically referenced to them at that meeting action 5.7 of the Government's housing plan, which talks about social housing allocations needing to prioritise children in long-term homelessness. It is due back through the Department of housing early in 2026. I urge all of us - I make this as a non-partisan point - with our network of councillors across the country to look at how social allocation schemes for local authorities prioritise children in relation to homeless. I accept that we need to build more social homes, and we will do so, but we are also now providing more social homes than at any time since the 1970s. However, I do not believe we are seeing enough of those homes allocated to children and families in long-term homelessness. Some local authorities have tried some innovative things in this area. There is a lot more work that needs to be done. I say to everybody requiring a home and wanting to see progress on the housing emergency this Christmas and as we go into 2026 that this Government is putting an extraordinary level of public funding behind the delivery of housing. Our new national housing plan and the national development plan show just that. We must ensure that we have zero tolerance for the bureaucracy and red tape that delay the delivery of much-needed homes and the infrastructure to provide them. The national development plan, read alongside the material on the new reforms around infrastructure delivery and the housing plan, will make a real and meaningful difference. We are seeing some encouraging signs in relation to housing supply, completions, planning permissions and first-time buyers. There are positive indicators regarding all of these metrics. However, I certainly do not stand here this Christmas suggesting that we are anywhere near where we need to be on homelessness, particularly in relation to children. The social housing allocation model should be revised in accordance with action 5.7 of the housing plan. That is something I genuinely want to see prioritised in the weeks and months ahead.
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My apologies if the Deputy thought I had not acknowledged the damaging effect of homelessness on a child. Of course I acknowledge it. It is a statement of fact. The Government works constructively with local authorities and others night and day to try to remove children from homelessness. I wish to make a statistical point, but I do not make it to take away from the seriousness of the issue, because all children must be protected and all people in homelessness need to be supported. The point is that the growth of our population has also had a direct impact on the numbers. That can be seen in the published monthly data. We have to have a serious debate about this. The population of this country has grown by around seven times the EU average at a time when we have an acute supply issue in relation to housing. We have to consider all of these issues.
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We have to consider all these issues in the round. Yes, we have seen far too many children in homelessness and emergency accommodation. That is a statement of fact. We are not where we need to be. That is why I have outlined how we intend to take specific actions under the new national housing plan. It is why the Minister, Deputy Browne, has taken measures to provide ring-fenced funding to local authorities in order that they can specifically buy homes, but only on the understanding that those homes will be allocated to families experiencing homelessness. We are trying innovative things. While the numbers are still too high, we have seen more children exit homelessness this year than in previous years. We are working to get more people out of homelessness. This is a major issue.
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On the Oireachtas TV unit, we should work together on this issue. To be clear, however, it is one for the Oireachtas Commission, on which all political groupings are represented. It is not an issue of Government-----
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My apologies. Many groupings are represented, and I am sure the voices of the Deputies opposite will be heard. That is the forum at which this needs to be resolved. The Government may have corresponded previously on this with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. We should engage on this and we are happy to do so. I thank the Deputy for putting a human face on the issue of homelessness. He was right to do so because we can lose sight of the human faces during the debate or in statistics. Mentioning the stories of Saoirse, Julianne and Caoimhe makes this matter very real to us. All of us, as TDs living in a country going through a housing emergency, could name people we know in our constituencies who are experiencing the scourge or stain of homelessness, including family homelessness. It is a stain on our society owing to the need to do much more. The issue of people experiencing domestic violence was raised in this House not that long ago, perhaps by Deputies Farrell and O'Reilly. Reference was made to people fleeing domestic violence who seek to move from one local authority area to another. The Deputies were right that it is bizarre that someone could not take their place on the list with them. That has now been fixed, or is certainly in the process of being fixed, by way of a letter from the Minister to the local authorities. This is an example of a constructive measure we can take together. I thank the Deputies for that. What I want people to know is that we are taking a number of measures to try to assist people in the here and now. The Deputy's point on one- and two-bedroom houses has some validity. From memory, it is a statement of fact that the huge need was in relation to one-bedroom units. It is also a statement of fact, however, that a family in homelessness requires more than one bedroom. In fairness, that is why the Minister, Deputy Browne, has put in place the ring-fenced fund to allow local authorities to acquire, at least in the first instance and here and now, larger properties. Figures I have to hand indicate we are beginning to see the benefit of this already. Fifty million euro has been allocated to eight city and county councils with the highest numbers of homeless families – people who have been in emergency accommodation for 24 months or longer, as said by the Deputy. In addition, a further €100 million will be allocated in this regard in 2026. There are some signs that the initiative is having a positive impact in that families in long-term homelessness are now being provided with homes by their local authorities. As we develop social housing, local authorities need to ensure that the mix, in terms of the number of bedrooms, is correct too. We have provided the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State for next year. The housing plan refers to the provision of 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports, along with the overall figure of 300,000 homes. When it comes to capital, to trying to remove blockages and to instructing, demanding, working and collaborating with local authorities in terms of zoning and providing more land, we are engaging. We are providing substantial financial support. The amounts we have invested in homelessness prevention have prevented very many families from entering homelessness. We need to continue to do all we can on this.
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I find myself conflicted. I agree with the Deputy on some points but some of the others are not of a fair reflection. We have taken a number of measures to try to protect people in their tenancies. When this Government, albeit a different version, came to office in January, I do not think many people on the Opposition benches predicted that we were going to extend the rent-pressure zones, make them permanent and make them nationwide. We did that. We also brought in a very comprehensive suite of protections-----
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-----for tenants.
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A whole series of new measures will be coming into place for 2026, as the Deputy knows. On the 9% VAT rate for apartments, we debated these financial resolutions here. That measure does not just benefit developers - although I am pleased it is benefiting people who are building more private apartments because we need more private supply and private investment - it also benefits AHBs. It will benefit people in the Deputy's constituency and mine who want to build apartments which will be made available to approved housing bodies and which will take people off the housing lists. I accept we have lots more to do, but it is not question of whether we should spend money on our national security or spend money on housing. This is a wealthy country which has an ability and obligation to do both. I will finish on a note of harmony. The issue relating to three-and four-bedroom homes is a legitimate one. The local authorities and the Government recognise that. The release valve for that is the €100 million in 2026 and €50 million in 2025. The Deputy's argument that we should do more is one we can keep under review. The bigger issue, though, is that should we build more in order to make sure there is a better composition and mix of the number of bedrooms in each home built.
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Let me try. I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for raising the issue. It is highly unlikely that there will be a vote before the end of the year. That is indicative of the fact that I do not believe that the blocking minority has disappeared. The programme for Government sets out two things. It states that Government will oppose the Mercosur deal in its current form and, I am paraphrasing here, that we will work with like-minded countries in relation to that. The Government has significant concerns regarding the Mercosur deal in its current form. In Brussels this morning, the Taoiseach made it clear that while there have been some safeguards produced, we need to see more. I believe he used the word "additionality" in that regard. The work continues. That is the first point. The idea that there could be a vote today or tomorrow does not seem to be the case. The Deputy asked - I do not doubt that he did so in all sincerity - asked if we will stick with this, that and the other country. The God's honest truth is, and I have said this to farmers in Galway, Clare and elsewhere - I would say it to farmers anywhere - whether the blocking majority still exists is the key question. Unlike others in this House, the Deputy never engages in performative politics. Is there a blocking minority? The Deputy picks up on newspaper reports that this country is thinking of changing its position. I have read in international media that maybe Italy or France are going to vote a particular way. Neither country has indicated that it is changing its position. Ireland is working with like-minded countries, which currently have a blocking minority on the Mercosur deal. We have significant concerns about the deal in its current form. We do not intend to do anything that ends the blocking minority. However, I am obliged to ask whether everybody in that group of like-minded countries remains resolute in their opposition. It is absolutely appropriate that the Taoiseach, the Minister for trade, the Minister for agriculture, myself and everybody else in the Government should continue to work with those like-minded countries to ascertain when a vote actually comes what way we, Italy, France and other countries will vote. While I do not mean this rudely, the Deputy is saying with great certainty that we should join with Italy, join with France and join with others. Will that be their position when it ultimately comes to a vote in Europe? The programme for Government states that we should oppose it in its current form and work with like-minded countries, and that is what we are going to continue to do. We are working on a variety of issues for farmers and for the fishery sector at European level. We had a disastrously negative outcome on fisheries in Europe last week. The Government is going to have to respond as to how we can support that sector too. Our position on the Mercosur deal remains as per the programme for Government.
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First, if we have not let me join with France in saying I do not believe the vote should take place in the calendar year 2025. I also do not believe it will because unless everybody is saying very different things in different countries, I believe there is currently a blocking minority in relation to Mercosur. I share the French position that there should not be a vote on Mercosur this side of Christmas. I do not see the issue as one of sides but in terms of what is the outcome. Is the outcome that there is enough of a qualified majority vote to stop the agreement being passed or not? Ireland certainly will not be the one to dissolve that blocking minority - far from it.
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Sure. We have very serious concerns about the Mercosur agreement. Some of what we have seen in the Irish Farmers’ Journal heightens that concern. The Deputy is right. However, to be honest to farmers, we have always said that Ireland on its own cannot stop Mercosur. It is about like-minded countries and whether there is critical mass.
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That work is ongoing. The Deputy has a job to do and he does it well, I do not say that critically. However, the Irish Government has to work behind the scenes diplomatically and engage with those like-minded countries. I can absolutely assure the Deputy that work is under way.
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