Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 30 Jun 2022

Vol. 1024 No. 5

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Bus Services

Deputy John Brady

Will the Minister of State indicate what measures have been taken to address the serious mess that has developed in my constituency over the past three and half years, since the privatisation of a number of routes that were formerly operated by Dublin Bus? This followed the privatisation of three particular routes: Nos. 45A, 184 and 185. At a time where we are supposed to be encouraging people and enticing them to use more public transport, a poor service is being provided by Go-Ahead Ireland in my constituency. This has resulted in many people being left abandoned at bus stops because of services being cancelled at late notice. This has developed into a situation where people will not use those routes because they cannot rely on them. People are now resorting back to using their cars. To say that privatisation has been a fiasco is an understatement at this stage.

The Minister of State will be aware that Go-Ahead Ireland is receiving substantial State funding to provide this service, which is completely failing. I have consistently raised this issue with the Minister for Transport and I have repeatedly met with the National Transport Authority, NTA. The Minister has said that it is not his responsibility and that is up to the NTA. I have also met with Go-Ahead Ireland. The NTA and Go-Ahead Ireland are hiding behind a false narrative that it is down to staffing issues as a direct result of Covid. Before Covid the excuse was that there was a bedding-in period but over the past two years, right up to this moment in time, the excuse for staff being missing is down to Covid, or whatever. Clearly, there are staffing issues within Go-Ahead Ireland that is resulting in the poor service being provided. This is fundamentally down to the pay and conditions offered to drivers. Drivers are being trained and then quickly leaving Go-Ahead Ireland, which has resulted in a continuous recruitment campaign by Go-Ahead Ireland to recruit new drivers and train them in, only for them to subsequently move on.

It seems there is this perpetual failure to provide a public service for bus users and potential bus users, certainly in my constituency. It has now got to a point where it is unsustainable. People are now refusing to use public transport. People are being left, at very short notice, standing waiting on a bus that does not show. Last week, there were a couple of incidents where children and teenagers were left after the final two buses on the No. 185 route never showed up. Those young people had to walk from Bray and to Enniskerry, along the 21 Bends, which is a very dangerous stretch of road. The situation is now putting at risk the safety of members of the public. The situation is counterproductive to the stated policy of the Government to encourage more people to use public transport.

Will the Minister of State indicate what action is being taken to ensure that a better service is being provided? As far as I can see, the time for Go-Ahead Ireland is well past. We now need to take these routes back into public control to ensure a better and more reliable service is provided.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. I will take this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I understand that the Deputy's matter relates to the provision of bus services on routes operated by Go-Ahead Ireland, and whether any measures can or have been taken to improve these services.

My Department has responsibility for policy and overall funding in respect of public transport. However, the Department is not involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services nationally, including those public service obligation, PSO, routes currently operated by Go-Ahead Ireland. The NTA has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally by way of public transport services contracts, and for the allocation of associated funding to the relevant transport operators.

In the context of the Deputy's specific question regarding the PSO services currently operated by Go-Ahead Ireland, as the Deputy will be aware and as he alluded to, the Covid-19 health emergency has had a profound impact on the public transport sector due to the fall in passenger numbers, and the associated drop in fare revenues. To date, passenger numbers remain below pre-Covid levels and demand is currently at 80% of that experienced in 2019. This is expected to improve further in the coming months..

Deputy John Brady

To say I am disappointed with the response is an understatement. I could have predicted the response before I came in here. It wastes my time and that of the Minister of State. That is the response I have heard consistently over the past two years, namely that the impact of Covid on Go-Ahead is resulting in the poor service that is being delivered. The poor service was there before Covid and it continues now. The same response does not wash because I do not see the same volume of cancellations from Dublin Bus, which provides an excellent service in Wicklow. There is not the same volume of cancellations. The Minister of State said the operators are being advised not to cancel first or last bus services but that is happening. It happened only last week in Wicklow on the 185 route. It is having a direct, negative impact on the people who rely on the public transport service in Wicklow.

The 45 route out of Wicklow is the only route out of the county that serves the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire. People are missing appointments because the bus is not showing up. One constituent told me last week that the 45 was cancelled at late notice and he had to use two other bus routes to get to the National Rehabilitation Centre. It is having a direct negative impact. It is no longer sustainable to hide behind Covid. The service has clearly failed.

I have two specific questions. How long is left on the contract? We need to seriously look at reversing the contract and giving it back to Dublin Bus, which can and will provide a far superior service. What measures have been taken by the NTA? What penalties have been imposed on Go-Ahead for its clear failure to meet its obligations under the contract to provide a fit-for-purpose service?

Deputy Hildegarde Naughton

I reassure the Deputy that the NTA is engaging regularly with Go-Ahead Ireland and other public transport operators regarding any service provision issues on the PSO network and the authority provides regular updates to the Department on these issues. Go-Ahead Ireland is actively taking steps to reduce the impact of the increased level of staff absences on service provision through an extensive campaign to recruit new bus drivers. The NTA and Go-Ahead Ireland are currently reviewing the existing service timetables and schedules to determine whether a modified timetable could be implemented over summer months when passenger demand is reduced, thereby reducing service disruption. It is hoped that a combination of these measures will help to significantly reduce the service provision issues that have occurred recently. I will raise the issues and the questions that the Deputy put directly to me with the Minister for him to come back to the Deputy with a response.

Tax Code

Deputy Brendan Griffin

The cost of living in Ireland is a massive hardship for so many families and the cost of motoring is proving particularly difficult. The Minister of State will be aware that as she drives around the country that the price of fuel in the forecourts has rocketed in recent months. It could be between €2.10 or €2.20 for a litre of diesel or petrol in most places. This is hitting people hard in the pocket. I very much welcome the intervention to date on the cost of fuel. Without that excise reduction delivered some months ago, we would probably be looking at prices hovering around €2.40 per litre for diesel and petrol. That has helped however most people filling a tank of diesel or petrol weekly will notice a significant increase in the cost of getting from A to B. In most cases people are travelling to and from work, dropping children to or from childcare and doing the necessary journeys that people have to make every day in the course of their lives. There is very little recreational driving going on at the moment because people simply cannot afford to do that. I am asking the Government to intervene further as soon as possible. I understand this could be done through statutory instrument. The Government could give a waiver for a year on renewing their motor tax. This was something that we were able to do very easily during the Covid emergency when motor tax and NCTs were about to expire. It was possible to extend the term over coverage with the stroke of a pen. Rather than asking people to pay yet another bill to cover their cars with motor tax for 12 months that they be given further time free of charge to give them a break.

The Government is getting the tax back through increased VAT on fuel and everything else in the economy. It is only fair that we give a break here. I have been told we can do no more on excise on fuel. I welcome the measures that have been put in place to date but this is something that could very easily be done to target the motorist in a very positive way and give them a bit of a break in recognition of the extraordinarily high prices that are being charged for fuel at the moment. It is something that would constitute an emergency measure but this is an emergency. People are really suffering. They cannot afford to pay their bills. I welcome reports this morning that the budget is due to be brought forward to September. This is something I raised at our parliamentary party budget meeting on Tuesday. It gives adequate time to prepare a comprehensive package of measures to address the cost-of-living crisis and all the other challenges we have in the country but the budget will be earlier than normal. The sooner these interventions can be made the better. I am asking that before that, consideration would be given on motor tax that would give motorists a break and one less bill to pay for 12 months at least. It is the least we could do in the circumstances. It would make sense and the benefits would be felt throughout the economy because the cost of delivery and transportation impacts on all the products and services we use. It would also be felt by the wider community and immediately by the motorists themselves.

Deputy Hildegarde Naughton

Motor tax receipts in 2021 were €908 million. Motor tax receipts accrue to the Exchequer. Changes to motor tax rates, including the potential abolition of motor tax, require primary legislation. These changes are made at budget time and are given permanent effect as part of the finance Bill.

A number of issues need to be considered in any proposal to abolish motor tax. The driver and computer services division of my Department is responsible for the maintenance of the national vehicle and driver file, NVDF, the central vehicle database, as well as supporting systems in local motor tax offices. The annual cost of running the NVDF is currently €22.9 million. However, the NVDF also supports road traffic enforcement, vehicle testing and the road transport operator licensing system and there would be a continuing requirement for it to remain in operation. Abolishing motor tax would require a legal framework to be put in place to ensure regular notification of vehicle and driver details to the NVDF, and compliance with that framework, to maintain an up-to-date vehicle database. Abolition of motor tax would result in savings on the paper cost of discs, and on printing and postage, as well as some savings on staff costs. However, it is estimated that would amount to total savings of just under €4 million in the Department.

The Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government publishes the amalgamated audited annual financial statement for all the local authorities on an annual basis. The most recently published statement is for 2019 and gives the total cost of running the local authority motor tax service at €29.41 million for the year. Total savings, therefore, would be in the order of €33.5 million for the Department and local motor offices combined.

Motor tax rates are not a contributor to the recent increases in the cost of living. The last general increases in motor tax, affecting all vehicle categories, took effect from 1 January 2013. There were significant reductions in motor tax for goods vehicles in budget 2016, which took effect from 1 January 2016, with the top rate of tax being reduced from €5,195 to €900 annually. There were also some increases to rates from 1 January 2021 for some private vehicles based on carbon dioxide emissions and registered between 2008 and 2020. The rates applied only to the higher emitting bands C to G with rates increasing by between €10 and €50 annually. These changes applied to some 187,000 cars or approximately 8.5% of the total car fleet.

Of those affected, 120,000 owners saw their annual tax increase by €10 with the upper increase of €50 applying to 7,000 vehicles. Motor tax is payable for three, six or 12 months. Any proposal to abolish motor tax would also need to consider the position of vehicles under current taxation at the time of abolition. It is likely that the owners of such vehicles would look for refunds of the proportion of motor tax paid for the time remaining on the disc. This would add significantly to the first-year cost of abolition as 2.9 million vehicles are under current taxation at any given time.

Another aspect to be factored in are the provisions of the Eurovignette directive, which provides a legal framework for charging heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain roads. While the directive largely concentrates on the provision of mechanisms for infrastructure charging, it also sets minimum rates for vehicle taxes applied by member states to heavy goods vehicles. The minimum rate for the heaviest band is €929. Since the reduction in motor tax from January 2016 to a top rate of €900, Ireland has been in technical breach of the directive.

Last but not least, motor tax is an important environmental policy lever. Motor tax based on CO2 emissions is on a graduated banding structure differentiating in favour of the most environmentally-friendly vehicles. Abolishing motor tax would reduce the incentive for owners to move to less polluting vehicles, potentially impacting the transport emissions target for 2030 set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021. In addition, the Commission on Taxation and Welfare may have considered this area as part of its deliberations on how the taxation system can be used to help Ireland move to a low-carbon economy. Any proposals to review or change motor tax should also be mindful of the commission's recommendations once published.

Deputy Brendan Griffin

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I emphasise that I am clearly not talking about motor tax abolition; I am talking about giving a break to motorists at the moment in respect of a Government charge on an activity that is already heavily taxed and is already extremely expensive because of a number of factors, many of which are outside the control of the Government. While I am not talking about abolition, I am talking about giving people a bit of breathing space for a limited period because motorists are already paying more than anyone ever anticipated to get from A to B.

Because of the structuring of our motor taxation system, doing that would give owners of older vehicles, people who are typically less well off, more of a break than owners of newer vehicles because the ridiculous system we have taxes older cars much more. Someone can drive a newer car with a value of multiples of that of an older car and pay a fraction of what the owner of the older car pays. This would be a very fair measure.

I very much welcome some of the positive interventions, including reducing the prices of public transport. However, those interventions do not affect rural dwellers for whom public transport is not an option. It is either non-existent or not responsive to their needs in getting from A to B, getting to work, or dropping children to school, childcare or elsewhere. This would be a targeted measure to give those people a bit of help with their transport costs because they cannot avail of the Government interventions in reducing public transport prices.

In conjunction with the Department of Finance, the Department of Transport needs to give this further consideration. This measure could be introduced pre-budget through a statutory instrument. I ask the Minister of State to reconsider the matter to give the hard-pressed motorists of the country a bit of a break because we know things will not get easier any time soon. The Government needs to reduce any charges it is putting on motorists as much as we can. We can control some things and we need to intervene where we can do so.

Deputy Hildegarde Naughton

The Government is acutely aware of the cost-of-living pressures people are experiencing. Addressing the cost of living is a matter for consideration as part of the budgetary preparations. I thank the Deputy for his contributions and I will take the issue back to my Government colleagues.

Abortion Services

Deputy Holly Cairns

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for including this Topical Issue matter. Before I get into it, I would like to say that for anyone who needs an abortion, the HSE's MyOptions service will help them find their nearest provider. People can phone [phone] or go to myoptions.ie.

Last week, the news broke that the US Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade, the case permitting termination of pregnancies across that jurisdiction. It was a shocking reminder that rights established for decades can quickly be removed. Equally worrying was the scale of celebration and pace at which lawmakers, primarily men, moved to restrict healthcare for girls and women. These events are a sobering warning. Some people in Ireland, including politicians, joyfully welcomed the news that the lives of girls and women were being put at risk, and we know this is especially the case in disadvantaged and minority communities.

While the right to bodily autonomy and healthcare, including termination - because abortion is healthcare - has been established by popular vote here, we know nothing is guaranteed. Some groups are still actively working to deny the will of the Irish people and threaten hard-won rights. However, we also know that the work is not completed to ensure that all people who need it have access to free, safe, and legal abortions in Ireland.

Recent UK Department of Health and Social Care figures show that 367 people from the island of Ireland were forced to travel to Britain for an abortion in 2021 - 206 from the Republic and 161 from the North. These are just the UK figures of people giving Irish addresses. In reality, there are many more.

For those travelling from the Republic, the vast majority were more than 12 weeks pregnant, with fatal foetal anomaly cases being the leading reason. This is an indictment of our current abortion laws. These are not abstract numbers; each one is a person being forced to leave the State for healthcare. In many cases, it is women and their partners enduring the pain of complicated pregnancies and foetal anomalies. These are heart-breaking and clinically complex situations. It is beyond disgraceful that our laws after repeal are still forcing hundreds of girls and women to travel for healthcare.

They are in the midst of the most difficult and emotional decisions they will ever have to make. They then need to navigate travelling to another jurisdiction, going through the chaos of Dublin Airport, or being fearful if they can afford it in a cost-of-living crisis. People living in rural areas, working-class people, disabled people, migrants and people living in direct provision all face additional barriers. It is important to note that the Abortion Support Network is a UK charity which provides financial assistance, accommodation and consultation to people from Ireland and other jurisdictions to access care in Britain.

Our laws are forcing suffering onto people already going through one of the worst events of their lives. The incredible work of Termination for Medical Reasons and all the courageous women and families who told their stories reveal the lived reality of this oppressive legislation. The current review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 must remove these cruel restrictions. Other restrictions need to also be addressed, such as the three-day waiting period, which has no basis in medical science, and the absence of abortion services in large parts of the country.

Recent events in the US have brought this situation back into the headlines, but it has been the lived experience for many since repeal. It is now up to the Government to help them.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Anne Rabbitte)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which is very timely in light of everything that has gone on in US. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, sends his apologies. I am taking the matter on his behalf and I will read out his exact script if that is okay.

It is important that we acknowledge the very upsetting situations faced and difficult decisions made by the people behind these statistics, and the very sad circumstances that surround these terminations of pregnancy. As the Deputy will be aware, the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act permits terminations to be carried out in cases where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of a pregnant woman; where there is a condition present likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within 28 days of birth; and without restriction up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Expanded termination of pregnancy services commenced on 1 January 2019 and are provided through participating doctors and hospitals throughout the country. However, I am aware that statistics reported by the Department of Health and Social Care in the UK showed that women with Irish addresses continued to access termination of pregnancy services in that jurisdiction in 2021.

I assure the Deputy that it is a priority for my Department that the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is fully implemented and is performing as it should be to enable all women in Ireland to access services quickly and easily without bias or judgment. There has been a substantial reduction in the number of people with Irish resident addresses availing of termination of pregnancy services in the UK since the enactment of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 and the commencement of services. There is regular ongoing engagement between the Department of Health and the HSE to facilitate the operation of the service and to resolve any issues that may arise. We will continue to ensure the positive rolling out and enhancement of these healthcare services.

Four years ago, the Irish people voted decisively to change the Constitution and give the Legislature responsibility to regulate termination of pregnancy services. The people voted in the knowledge of the legislative proposals that would be progressed to deliver on this outcome. In line with the statutory and Government commitments, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has commenced this review of the operation of Act. The review will assess the effectiveness of the operation of the legislation and will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner.

The review is being led by an independent chair and comprises two main phases. As part of the first phase of the review, information and evidence on the operation of the Act is being collected from women who use the service and from health professionals who provide the service, along with the views of the public through a public consultation, which closed on 1 April. In the second phase of the review, the chair will assess the extent to which the objectives have and have not been achieved and will make recommendations to address any barriers identified. The chair is expected to conclude her report and provide a report to the Minister at the end of the year. This process will provide an important examination of how our termination services are operating and will give us a chance, where necessary, to identify improvements to the operation of the Act.

Deputy Holly Cairns

The Minister of State has said that current legislation enables all women to access abortion services but it does not. There were 367 women who travelled to the UK that we know of but clearly there are many more, and they did not have access to that healthcare in Ireland. It is deeply disappointing and concerning that the Government is determined to review only the operation of the Act rather than providing the changes necessary to prevent further suffering. Could we honestly say we are happy with the fact that women and families who received the worst possible news are being forced to travel to another country for healthcare?

The review of the legislation is a missed opportunity to update our laws in line with best medical practice and the lived experience of families. Regrettably, the lack of action and resolve on this and related issues is clear. The Government has failed to bring forward promised legislation on safe access zones around GP surgeries and hospitals. Instead, the Together for Safety group has, in co-ordination with Senators, sought to progress a Bill where the Government has failed to do so.

There is also the larger context of maternal healthcare in Ireland. We are years, if not decades, away from a patient-centred system in which midwives have a leading role. We have shockingly low rates of home births in Ireland, with an institutional culture of forcing women into maternity hospitals. The Community Midwives Association and the Midwives Association of Ireland have called the HSE ban on water births "non-evidence based, unethical and inequitable". More than 3,000 women annually are hospitalised because of severe pregnancy sickness when a medication that could assist in many cases is unavailable on the drugs payment scheme or medical card. There is also a vastly disproportionate over-representation of ethnic minority women among maternal deaths in Ireland.

All of these matters are connected to how maternal and abortion healthcare are treated in Ireland. An unwillingness to provide the full range of abortion care needed by girls and women is the same unwillingness to provide the full range of properly resourced maternal healthcare. We need change.

Deputy Anne Rabbitte

I thank the Deputy and I take on board everything she has said. I will bring back her comments to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. The Deputy mentioned medication that might stop women being hospitalised because of sickness and I will bring it up again. My understanding is that it was to progress. I believe it is called Cariban and I will get the Deputy an update on its availability in the drugs scheme. We all believe it should be included.

Housing Provision

Deputy James O'Connor

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for being present in the Chamber. I ask for a progress update on the ongoing house building targets for 2022. We have seen some reports in the media during the week and there seems to be a discrepancy between details provided by the Department and what will realistically be produced. I would appreciate the Minister providing an update in that regard.

I am in my mid-20s and the youngest Member in Dáil Éireann, so I am acutely aware of the significant challenges facing a new generation of people without assets who want to be able to purchase their own homes but simply cannot because of the current level of pricing. It is an enormous concern and this Government more than any other in recent memory has given it the priority it deserves. I have plenty of confidence in the current plan being put forward, although I have some concerns around who will end up owning the homes we build on completion. These are valid concerns that must be put forward and I will take this opportunity to make that particular point.

In the construction of new housing it is great to see a significant ramping up of social and affordable housing. I want to put the case for tens of thousands of young, educated working professionals who are the life of the Irish economy but who are unable to purchase their own homes. I am a Cork Deputy but I will speak about Dublin because it is important to recognise it as a primary city that is a huge part of the ecosystem of developing young working professionals who may be educated in Cork, Galway and Dublin. People travel from all over the country to work in Dublin in many of our companies across a range of different sectors at a young age before eventually transferring back to their home. That seems to be the pattern for so many young Irish working people.

Somebody who wants to rent a two-bedroom apartment in this city with the simple luxury of an en suite bathroom could expect to pay well in excess of €2,000 per month. With parking, that could go to €2,600 or €2,800 in many parts of the city. This shows the system is utterly broken.

I respect the Central Bank of Ireland's independence but we are elected by the people. It must be acknowledged that for so many people who are fortunate or in a good position to earn a high wage, it is unrealistic to expect them to get a 10% deposit if they have been paying extremely high rents over five, six or seven years, which in itself proves they are more than capable of meeting mortgage repayment obligations. As a Government we must go to the Central Bank to outline our specific concerns in that regard.

There are so many people who could buy a house tomorrow, with mortgage repayments significantly lower than rent. Although a mortgage is a major burden on every family in this country and any individual who is repaying a mortgage, at the end of the term he or she owns the asset. It would not be a cuckoo fund in Singapore, Shanghai or Tokyo owning it. It is deeply frustrating to know this when I listen to many of the esteemed economists advising there is a requirement for them to be involved with the market to push the building of new premises in this country.

The simple reality is those who are in a position to be able to purchase houses in Ireland and repay mortgages are being restricted because they are paying high rents and there is a requirement for a deposit when buying. It is perhaps something we could look at. I look forward to the information the Minister of State will provide to the House on housing provision for 2022.

Deputy Anne Rabbitte

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to provide an update on social and affordable housing provision. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, who sends his apologies but who has provided me with the reply to the Deputy's question.

Housing for All is the Government's plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes out to 2030. The focus of the social housing programme will be to increase the number of new builds with a target to reach delivery of more than 9,500 new-build homes on average every year for the next five years to 2026.

In September 2021, the Minister issued targets for new-build social housing to all local authorities for the period 2022 to 2026. Delivery of affordable new housing is also a key objective across the affordable housing delivery streams. In March of this year, five-year affordable purchase and cost rental delivery targets were issued to those local authorities with an identified and significant need for affordable housing provision.

One of the actions in Housing for All requires local authorities to develop and submit housing delivery action plans to include details of their social and affordable housing delivery. In the action plans, local authorities provide information on the location where housing will be delivered and the planned number of homes to be delivered in each year. The plans also include information on other delivery streams, including delivery by local authorities, approved housing bodies and the Land Development Agency, LDA. All local authorities submitted initial housing delivery action plans to the Minister in December and there has been further engagement between local authorities and the Department to ensure all plans are consistent with social and affordable targets, in addition to the range of policies set out in Housing for All.

This year sees the beginning of delivery under the range of affordable housing programmes, representing the first State-supported affordable housing and delivery in a decade. Households are already enjoying the benefits of the new cost rental tenancies, with over 200 homes already tenanted and more schemes opening between now and the end of the year.

The first local authority affordable purchase homes in south Dublin will have their new owners next month and in Cork city, we will be advertising shortly affordable homes for purchase in two schemes. In addition, the first home shared equity schemes will launch next week and will be funded to support 8,000 home purchases by 2026 by affordability constrained first-time buyers and some households starting again under a fresh start principle. I hope that addresses some of the questions the Deputy asked. I do not believe the Minister would have been able to address the issue raised regarding the Central Bank in his statement.

Deputy James O'Connor

The response is quite interesting as it does not provide a figure for 2022, which is what I asked for. That is a little frustrating and I wish to underline it. I am sure my constituents in Cork East and every Deputy's constituents want those figures and want certainty. I know the Minister of State shares that view. I thank her for the response and I appreciate it but I ask her to bring back to the Minister the message that I want this year's figures, which I asked for but did not get this morning.

We have done Trojan work. The sole focus of much of the discussion in Fianna Fáil was that we would take the broken housing system when we entered Government in 2020 and try to put in proactive measures to increase the supply of housing, despite having to deal with a pandemic. That cannot be disputed and I fundamentally disagree with what many Opposition parties wanted to do to fix the problem. By tearing up the rule book, we will push the process back by a number of years.

When these houses come on stream, whether it is the houses for which planning permission has been granted or new private housing developments, I am concerned about who is going to buy them. I want domestic residents and first-time buyers in this country to be prioritised over the next two to three years. I make no apology for saying that. We need to tackle the argument that there is a necessity to have vulture and cuckoo funds and other institutional investors involved in financing the construction and purchase of new apartment developments and housing developments in this country in order for them to be built. We must remove that argument and reallocate that demand by looking at the tens of thousands of people who in recent years have clearly demonstrated that they can afford to pay the price of a mortgage because many are paying rents that are double what they would pay in a mortgage. I ask that the Minister champion this matter on behalf of the House with the Central Bank. While I recognise the Central Bank's independence, it is failing and that has to be acknowledged. The social and economic consequence of what is happening when it comes to who is purchasing residential property is absolutely shocking and we need to put a stop to it. That is my view and the view of tens of thousands of young working professionals, many of whom feel they have been forgotten about.

Deputy Anne Rabbitte

Housing for All is a clear priority for the Government. We are committed to delivering on targets across all pathways of the plan. The delivery of social and affordable homes is central to the plan and these homes are expected to comprise approximately half of the housing delivery over the next decade. The provision of individual local authority targets and the development of housing delivery action plans addressing delivery over the next five years has introduced a more strategic approach to housing delivery. Local authorities are working closely with the approved housing bodies, delivery partners and the LDA to develop a pipeline to ensure we meet these targets.

A central element of Housing for All is to build institutional capacity. As part of the measures to support institutional capacity, Housing for All commits to strengthening the capacity of the local authorities to initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects and to recognise that this requires the resourcing of the housing services of local authorities.

Funding has been approved for 250 new posts for local authorities to support the delivery of social housing and work is nearing completion to identify additional resources required to support the delivery of affordable housing. The Government, the Minister and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will continue to work closely with local authorities and all the key stakeholders to support the delivery of social and affordable housing.

That addresses the content of the Topical Issue matter the Deputy raised. He also raised the need to recognise the capacity of young professionals to earn more and how they could be accommodated in the purchasing of new homes. That is the message I heard and it is one I will bring back to the Minister.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 11.17 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar mheán lae.

Sitting suspended at 11.17 a.m. and resumed at 12 noon.