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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 1 Feb 2018

Vol. 964 No. 6

Affordable Housing: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members]

The following motion was moved by Deputy Eoin Ó Broin on Tuesday, 30 January 2018:
That Dáil Éireann notes that:
— since taking office in 2011, Fine Gael have not delivered a single affordable rental or purchase home through any Government scheme;
— the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness contains no targets and no clear funding stream for the delivery of affordable housing;
— the Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil Confidence and Supply Arrangement for a Fine Gael-led Minority Government has no targets or proposals for the delivery of affordable housing;
— Fianna Fáil have facilitated two Fine Gael budgets despite neither containing any credible proposals for delivering affordable housing;
— Fianna Fáil's Budget 2018 proposals contain no targets or proposals for the delivery of affordable housing;
— the €90 million Help to Buy Scheme is driving up house prices;
— the €200 million Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund is unlikely to deliver a significant number of genuinely affordable housing and may deliver no affordable homes in Dublin;
— the €25 million affordable housing fund announced in Budget 2018 will only deliver 650 affordable homes;
— the revised local authority first time buyers mortgage will be of limited value if genuinely affordable homes are not available to purchase;
— the introduction of Rent Pressure Zones has not constrained rents by 4 per cent, particularly with respect to new tenancies;
— no progress has been made by Government in developing an affordable rental (cost rental) model of housing despite commitments dating back to 2014; and
— no affordable rental or purchase homes will be delivered by any Government scheme in 2018; and
calls on the Government to:
— immediately introduce ambitious affordable rental and purchase housing schemes led by local authorities, and where appropriate, approved housing bodies and housing cooperatives with clear annual targets for all local authorities;
— deliver 4,500 affordable homes in year one and 9,000 affordable homes in year two with an appropriate mixture of rental and purchase homes determined by local housing needs;
— deliver the affordable homes as part of mixed tenure and mixed income estates on public land;
— fund the delivery of the affordable housing schemes through a combination of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund/Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI), Housing Finance Agency and exchequer funding as appropriate, and provide local authorities with multi annual funding commitments to facilitate forward planning;
— design the HBFI fund to prioritise loan finance to small and medium sized builders participating in council led affordable housing schemes;
— commit appropriate public funding to all council led mixed tenure and mixed income developments for projects currently underway in O'Devaney Gardens, Oscar Traynor Park and St Michael's Estate in Dublin City, The Grange/Kilcarberry in South Dublin and Shangannagh Park in Dún Laoghaire;
— identify public sites in Cork, Waterford and Galway cities for similar large scale council led mixed income and mixed tenure developments;
— commit appropriate public funding to deliver 550 affordable homes in the Poolbeg Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) and 2,109 affordable homes in the Clonburris
— amend Part V of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, to provide for 10 per cent affordable housing in addition to the existing 10 per cent social housing requirement;
and
— introduce real rent certainty by amending the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, to link rent reviews to an index such as the Consumer Price Index.
Debate resumed on amendment No. 4:
To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
“— notes that the Government, through its Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, has prioritised measures to stimulate housing supply at more affordable prices and rents;
— acknowledges that the initial primary focus has been on delivering homes for households in the lowest income brackets, through the commitment of over €6 billion to deliver 50,000 new social housing homes by 2021, with a further 88,000 qualifying households being supported under other programmes, primarily the Housing Assistance Payment scheme;
— welcomes the progress made in 2017, when almost 26,000 households had their social housing needs met, nearly 5,000 ahead of target;
— notes that the Government has also implemented a suite of measures to reactivate residential construction activity more generally and support its capacity to deliver more affordable homes, through, inter alia:
— fast-track planning reforms and more flexible planning guidelines;
— over €200 million investment in the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF), supporting infrastructure to open up housing lands, with proportionate affordability dividends for house purchasers;
— bringing forward large-scale mixed-tenure housing projects, with social, affordable and private housing, on publicly-owned lands;
— the Help to Buy Scheme scheme to assist first-time buyers to meet their deposit requirements; and
— that all relevant activity indicators show significant upward trends in activity;
— acknowledges the initiatives in Budget 2018 to remove obstacles to building more homes more quickly, by:
— investing more in direct house-building by the State;
— removing the Capital Gains Tax incentive to hold on to residential land;
— escalating penalties for land hoarding; and
— providing a new, more affordable finance vehicle for builders through House Building Finance Ireland (HBFI);
— welcomes the introduction of targeted and time-bound measures to limit excessive rent increases through Rent Pressure Zones, and to provide further protections and effective support services to both tenants and landlords; and
— commends the Government on the further range of housing affordability measures now being introduced including:
— a new Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan, which will provide long-term, fixed-rate mortgages for first-time buyers;
— a new Affordable Purchase Scheme, which will see affordable homes built initially on State land, in co-operation with local authorities;
— the €25 million Serviced Sites Fund which will provide funding for local authorities to make low-cost serviced sites available for the delivery of affordable housing;
— the plans being developed by local authorities to deliver significant numbers of affordable homes through the publicly-owned land bank, with potential for more than 3,000 new affordable homes projected from existing sites as the first step towards the Government’s ambition for at least 10,000 affordable homes over the years ahead;
— the ambition to make cost rental a major part of the Irish housing system, learning from the pilot cost rental project currently being progressed in Dublin;
— a second LIHAF infrastructural investment fund which will be launched in the first half of 2018, to facilitate the opening up of more lands for early development and deliver additional homes at more affordable prices; and
— the finalisation of new ‘Build to Rent’ and ‘co-living’ planning guidelines to encourage development and investment in new forms of rental accommodation at more affordable rents.”
- (Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government)

I must now deal with a postponed division relating to Amendment No. 4 on the motion re affordable housing. On Tuesday, 30 January 2018, on the question, "That the amendment to the motion be made", a division was claimed, and in accordance with Standing Order 70(2), that division must be taken now.

Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 49; Níl, 82; Staon, 0.

  • Bailey, Maria.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Breen, Pat.
  • Brophy, Colm.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Burke, Peter.
  • Byrne, Catherine.
  • Canney, Seán.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
  • Coveney, Simon.
  • D'Arcy, Michael.
  • Deasy, John.
  • Deering, Pat.
  • Doherty, Regina.
  • Donohoe, Paschal.
  • Doyle, Andrew.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • English, Damien.
  • Farrell, Alan.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Griffin, Brendan.
  • Harris, Simon.
  • Harty, Michael.
  • Heydon, Martin.
  • Humphreys, Heather.
  • Kehoe, Paul.
  • Kyne, Seán.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • Madigan, Josepha.
  • McGrath, Finian.
  • McHugh, Joe.
  • McLoughlin, Tony.
  • Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
  • Moran, Kevin Boxer.
  • Murphy, Eoghan.
  • Naughten, Denis.
  • Naughton, Hildegarde.
  • Neville, Tom.
  • Noonan, Michael.
  • O'Connell, Kate.
  • O'Donovan, Patrick.
  • O'Dowd, Fergus.
  • Phelan, John Paul.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Rock, Noel.
  • Ross, Shane.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Zappone, Katherine.

Níl

  • Adams, Gerry.
  • Aylward, Bobby.
  • Barry, Mick.
  • Boyd Barrett, Richard.
  • Brady, John.
  • Brassil, John.
  • Breathnach, Declan.
  • Broughan, Thomas P.
  • Browne, James.
  • Buckley, Pat.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Butler, Mary.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Cahill, Jackie.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Casey, Pat.
  • Cassells, Shane.
  • Chambers, Jack.
  • Chambers, Lisa.
  • Collins, Joan.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Connolly, Catherine.
  • Coppinger, Ruth.
  • Crowe, Seán.
  • Cullinane, David.
  • Curran, John.
  • Daly, Clare.
  • Doherty, Pearse.
  • Donnelly, Stephen S.
  • Dooley, Timmy.
  • Ellis, Dessie.
  • Ferris, Martin.
  • Fleming, Sean.
  • Funchion, Kathleen.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Healy, Seamus.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kelleher, Billy.
  • Kenny, Gino.
  • Kenny, Martin.
  • Lahart, John.
  • Lawless, James.
  • MacSharry, Marc.
  • McConalogue, Charlie.
  • McDonald, Mary Lou.
  • McGrath, Mattie.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McGuinness, John.
  • Mitchell, Denise.
  • Moynihan, Aindrias.
  • Munster, Imelda.
  • Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
  • Murphy, Catherine.
  • Murphy, Eugene.
  • Murphy, Paul.
  • Nolan, Carol.
  • O'Brien, Darragh.
  • O'Brien, Jonathan.
  • O'Callaghan, Jim.
  • O'Keeffe, Kevin.
  • O'Reilly, Louise.
  • O'Rourke, Frank.
  • O'Sullivan, Jan.
  • O'Sullivan, Maureen.
  • Ó Broin, Eoin.
  • Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
  • Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • Penrose, Willie.
  • Pringle, Thomas.
  • Quinlivan, Maurice.
  • Rabbitte, Anne.
  • Ryan, Brendan.
  • Ryan, Eamon.
  • Scanlon, Eamon.
  • Sherlock, Sean.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smyth, Niamh.
  • Stanley, Brian.
  • Tóibín, Peadar.
  • Troy, Robert.
  • Wallace, Mick.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Joe McHugh and Tony McLoughlin; Níl, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Denise Mitchell.
Amendment declared lost.

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

recognises:

- that the housing crisis is a national economic, social and moral challenge; and

- the need for affordable housing to dampen down unsustainable property price rises and ensure ordinary families can secure home ownership;

criticises:

- Fine Gael's decision to abolish the affordable housing scheme in 2012;

- the failure to adequately invest in social and affordable housing from 2011; and

- the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government's decision not to spend the €10 million allocated to an affordable rental model in budget 2016; and

calls on the Government to:

- launch a new off-balance sheet housing delivery agency to lead in delivering social and affordable housing;

- compulsory purchase and develop State and State agency land in key areas of demand;

- reduce construction costs and expand finance to ensure construction is viable;

- initiate a new tenant purchase scheme to enable local authority tenants to avail of home ownership at an affordable level; and

- restore Part V to 20% of social and affordable housing.

Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 38; Níl, 93; Staon, 0.

  • Aylward, Bobby.
  • Brassil, John.
  • Breathnach, Declan.
  • Browne, James.
  • Butler, Mary.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Cahill, Jackie.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Casey, Pat.
  • Cassells, Shane.
  • Chambers, Jack.
  • Chambers, Lisa.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Curran, John.
  • Donnelly, Stephen S.
  • Dooley, Timmy.
  • Fleming, Sean.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Kelleher, Billy.
  • Lahart, John.
  • Lawless, James.
  • MacSharry, Marc.
  • McConalogue, Charlie.
  • McGrath, Mattie.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McGuinness, John.
  • Moynihan, Aindrias.
  • Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
  • Murphy, Eugene.
  • O'Brien, Darragh.
  • O'Callaghan, Jim.
  • O'Keeffe, Kevin.
  • O'Rourke, Frank.
  • Rabbitte, Anne.
  • Scanlon, Eamon.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smyth, Niamh.
  • Troy, Robert.

Níl

  • Adams, Gerry.
  • Bailey, Maria.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Barry, Mick.
  • Boyd Barrett, Richard.
  • Brady, John.
  • Breen, Pat.
  • Brophy, Colm.
  • Broughan, Thomas P.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Buckley, Pat.
  • Burke, Peter.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Byrne, Catherine.
  • Canney, Seán.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Collins, Joan.
  • Connolly, Catherine.
  • Coppinger, Ruth.
  • Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
  • Coveney, Simon.
  • Crowe, Seán.
  • Cullinane, David.
  • D'Arcy, Michael.
  • Daly, Clare.
  • Deasy, John.
  • Deering, Pat.
  • Doherty, Pearse.
  • Doherty, Regina.
  • Donohoe, Paschal.
  • Doyle, Andrew.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • Ellis, Dessie.
  • English, Damien.
  • Farrell, Alan.
  • Ferris, Martin.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Funchion, Kathleen.
  • Griffin, Brendan.
  • Harris, Simon.
  • Harty, Michael.
  • Healy, Seamus.
  • Heydon, Martin.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Humphreys, Heather.
  • Kehoe, Paul.
  • Kenny, Gino.
  • Kenny, Martin.
  • Kyne, Seán.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • Madigan, Josepha.
  • McDonald, Mary Lou.
  • McGrath, Finian.
  • McHugh, Joe.
  • McLoughlin, Tony.
  • Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
  • Mitchell, Denise.
  • Moran, Kevin Boxer.
  • Munster, Imelda.
  • Murphy, Catherine.
  • Murphy, Eoghan.
  • Murphy, Paul.
  • Naughten, Denis.
  • Naughton, Hildegarde.
  • Neville, Tom.
  • Nolan, Carol.
  • Noonan, Michael.
  • O'Brien, Jonathan.
  • O'Connell, Kate.
  • O'Donovan, Patrick.
  • O'Dowd, Fergus.
  • O'Reilly, Louise.
  • O'Sullivan, Jan.
  • O'Sullivan, Maureen.
  • Ó Broin, Eoin.
  • Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
  • Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • Penrose, Willie.
  • Phelan, John Paul.
  • Pringle, Thomas.
  • Quinlivan, Maurice.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Rock, Noel.
  • Ross, Shane.
  • Ryan, Brendan.
  • Ryan, Eamon.
  • Sherlock, Sean.
  • Stanley, Brian.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Tóibín, Peadar.
  • Wallace, Mick.
  • Zappone, Katherine.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies John Lahart and John Curran; Níl, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Denise Mitchell.
Amendment declared lost.

I move amendment No. 2:

To insert the following after "as the Consumer Price Index.":

- to bring in legislation for reform of the rules for the assessment of compensation paid by local authorities on the compulsory acquisition of land for social and affordable housing, along the lines recommended in the report of the Committee on the Price of Building Land in 1973, the Kenny report, so that such land could be compulsorily acquired at existing use values, plus 25%, which was agreed to by the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution in 2004 to be a constitutional regulation of the exercise of private property rights by the principles of social justice and a valid delimitation of the exercise of those rights with a view to reconciling their exercise with the exigencies of the common good.

Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 41; Níl, 89; Staon, 0.

  • Adams, Gerry.
  • Barry, Mick.
  • Boyd Barrett, Richard.
  • Brady, John.
  • Broughan, Thomas P.
  • Buckley, Pat.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Coppinger, Ruth.
  • Crowe, Seán.
  • Cullinane, David.
  • Daly, Clare.
  • Doherty, Pearse.
  • Ellis, Dessie.
  • Ferris, Martin.
  • Funchion, Kathleen.
  • Healy, Seamus.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kenny, Gino.
  • Kenny, Martin.
  • McDonald, Mary Lou.
  • McGrath, Mattie.
  • Mitchell, Denise.
  • Munster, Imelda.
  • Murphy, Catherine.
  • Murphy, Paul.
  • Nolan, Carol.
  • O'Brien, Jonathan.
  • O'Reilly, Louise.
  • O'Sullivan, Jan.
  • Ó Broin, Eoin.
  • Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
  • Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • Penrose, Willie.
  • Quinlivan, Maurice.
  • Ryan, Brendan.
  • Ryan, Eamon.
  • Sherlock, Sean.
  • Stanley, Brian.
  • Tóibín, Peadar.
  • Wallace, Mick.

Níl

  • Aylward, Bobby.
  • Bailey, Maria.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Brassil, John.
  • Breathnach, Declan.
  • Breen, Pat.
  • Brophy, Colm.
  • Browne, James.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Burke, Peter.
  • Butler, Mary.
  • Byrne, Catherine.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Cahill, Jackie.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Canney, Seán.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Casey, Pat.
  • Cassells, Shane.
  • Chambers, Jack.
  • Chambers, Lisa.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Connolly, Catherine.
  • Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
  • Coveney, Simon.
  • Curran, John.
  • D'Arcy, Michael.
  • Deasy, John.
  • Deering, Pat.
  • Doherty, Regina.
  • Donnelly, Stephen S.
  • Donohoe, Paschal.
  • Dooley, Timmy.
  • Doyle, Andrew.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • Farrell, Alan.
  • Fitzpatrick, Peter.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Fleming, Sean.
  • Griffin, Brendan.
  • Harris, Simon.
  • Harty, Michael.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Heydon, Martin.
  • Humphreys, Heather.
  • Kehoe, Paul.
  • Kelleher, Billy.
  • Kyne, Seán.
  • Lahart, John.
  • Lawless, James.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • MacSharry, Marc.
  • Madigan, Josepha.
  • McConalogue, Charlie.
  • McGrath, Finian.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McGuinness, John.
  • McHugh, Joe.
  • McLoughlin, Tony.
  • Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
  • Moran, Kevin Boxer.
  • Moynihan, Aindrias.
  • Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
  • Murphy, Eoghan.
  • Murphy, Eugene.
  • Naughten, Denis.
  • Naughton, Hildegarde.
  • Neville, Tom.
  • Noonan, Michael.
  • O'Brien, Darragh.
  • O'Callaghan, Jim.
  • O'Connell, Kate.
  • O'Donovan, Patrick.
  • O'Dowd, Fergus.
  • O'Keeffe, Kevin.
  • O'Rourke, Frank.
  • O'Sullivan, Maureen.
  • Phelan, John Paul.
  • Pringle, Thomas.
  • Rabbitte, Anne.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Rock, Noel.
  • Ross, Shane.
  • Scanlon, Eamon.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smyth, Niamh.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Troy, Robert.
  • Zappone, Katherine.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Brendan Ryan and Jan O'Sullivan; Níl, Deputies Joe McHugh and Tony McLoughlin.
Amendment declared lost.

I move amendment No. 3:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann notes that” and substitute the following:

“— the number of individuals or couples with a housing need that are neither eligible to apply for social housing because of the low income thresholds, nor able to afford to purchase a private home at current prices, far exceeds the approximately 100,000 on the social housing list, possibly by a factor of three;

— since taking office in 2011, Fine Gael have not delivered a single affordable home through any Government scheme;

— the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness contains no targets and no clear funding stream for the delivery of affordable housing;

— the Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil Confidence and Supply Arrangement for a Fine Gael-led Minority Goverment has no targets or proposals for the delivery of affordable housing;

— Fianna Fáil have facilitated two Fine Gael budgets despite neither containing any credible proposals for delivering affordable housing;

— Fianna Fáil’s Budget 2018 proposals contain no targets or proposals for the delivery of affordable housing;

— the €90 million Help to Buy Scheme is driving up house prices and by the most generous estimate will help no more than 1,000 home purchases;

— the €200 million Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is unlikely to deliver significant numbers of genuinely affordable housing and may deliver no affordable homes in Dublin;

— the €25 million affordable housing fund announced in Budget 2018 will only deliver 650 affordable homes;

— the revised local authority first-time buyers mortgage will be of limited value if genuinely affordable homes are not available to purchase;

— the introduction of Rent Pressure Zones has not constrained rents by 4 per cent, particularly with respect to new tenancies;

— no affordable homes will be delivered by any Government scheme in 2018; and

— no precise definition of affordable rental homes has been forthcoming but the indications that such rents would be pitched at approximately 80 per cent of market rates, or worked out on the basis of a 25 year cost recovery on the commercial construction cost, are in no manner ‘affordable’; and

calls on the Government to:

— immediately introduce regulations to ensure that, independent of commitments in Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing is delivered in all private developments;

— directly construct 100,000 council and affordable homes over the next five years;

— immediately establish what price or rent level is defined as affordable and to ensure that this is genuinely affordable for those on average incomes above the eligibility threshold for council housing;

— achieve mixed income public housing estates through a combination of affordable housing but also by raising the eligibility criteria for renting local authority homes, at minimum, to include all with a housing need that cannot purchase privately at current market rates;

— not deplete the public housing stock, as happened in the past, by making it mandatory that the local authority have first refusal in buying back affordable homes that occupants seek to sell;

— immediately introduce an affordable housing scheme for public land that will ensure no land is sold off, in part or in whole, to private developers or landlords and further ensure that public private partnerships will not be considered in the context of council and/or affordable housing on public land;

— ensure that in any delivery of affordable homes on public land, all of these homes remain affordable into the future i.e. where purchasers do sell at a future date, they will be required to sell back to the local authority and that home will be either resold as affordable or revert to council housing;

— fund the delivery of the affordable housing schemes through a combination of the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund/Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI), Housing Finance Agency and exchequer funding as appropriate, and provide local authorities with multi-annual funding commitments to facilitate forward planning;

— design the HBFI fund to prioritise loan finance to small and medium-sized builders participating in council-led affordable housing schemes;

— ensure that all residential housing on National Asset Management Agency sites, or on sites supported by the Strategic Investment Fund, will be a mix of council and affordable housing only, with no housing on these sites being sold at market prices;

— ensure that all LIHAF and HBFI funded developments deliver, independent of any commitment in Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, 40 per cent affordable homes as per the Government’s original proposal for LIHAF, putting in place appropriate claw-back mechanisms to ensure the State benefits proportionately on any capital gain arising from future sale of these homes;

— immediately scrap the failed ‘Land Initiative’ and commit appropriate public funding to all council developments for projects currently underway in O’Devaney Gardens, Oscar Traynor Park and St Michael's Estate in Dublin City, The Grange/Kilcarberry in South Dublin and Shangannagh Castle in Dún Laoghaire, but ensure that all of these lands remain in full public ownership and that any affordable housing remains affordable into the future and that any tenure mix on these sites will ensure a majority percentage being developed as traditional council housing;

— identify public sites around the country for similar council-led developments and introduce legislation to allow for the purchase of land needed to meet the public and affordable housing needs, at use value prices, and immediately bring forward plans similar to the Damastown proposal in Fingal and Whitechurch in Cork brought forward by Solidarity-People Before Profit public representatives;

— commit the required funding to ensure the maximum council and affordable housing in the Poolbeg and Clonburris Strategic Development Zone's (SDZ) and to dramatically increase the proportion of council and affordable homes in the Cherywood SDZ;

— amend Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, to provide for a minimum of 20 per cent council housing requirement;

— introduce real rent controls that allow local authorities to set rents at affordable levels and ensure that future rent increases are linked to an index such as the Consumer Price Index; and

— defend and maintain the differential rent levels in local authority rented housing.”

Amendment put:
The Dáil divided: Tá, 14; Níl, 118; Staon, 1.

  • Barry, Mick.
  • Boyd Barrett, Richard.
  • Broughan, Thomas P.
  • Collins, Joan.
  • Connolly, Catherine.
  • Coppinger, Ruth.
  • Daly, Clare.
  • Healy, Seamus.
  • Kenny, Gino.
  • Murphy, Paul.
  • O'Sullivan, Maureen.
  • Pringle, Thomas.
  • Ryan, Eamon.
  • Wallace, Mick.

Níl

  • Adams, Gerry.
  • Aylward, Bobby.
  • Bailey, Maria.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Brady, John.
  • Brassil, John.
  • Breathnach, Declan.
  • Breen, Pat.
  • Brophy, Colm.
  • Browne, James.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Buckley, Pat.
  • Burke, Peter.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Butler, Mary.
  • Byrne, Catherine.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Cahill, Jackie.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Canney, Seán.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Casey, Pat.
  • Cassells, Shane.
  • Chambers, Jack.
  • Chambers, Lisa.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
  • Coveney, Simon.
  • Crowe, Seán.
  • Cullinane, David.
  • Curran, John.
  • D'Arcy, Michael.
  • Deasy, John.
  • Deering, Pat.
  • Doherty, Pearse.
  • Doherty, Regina.
  • Donnelly, Stephen S.
  • Donohoe, Paschal.
  • Dooley, Timmy.
  • Doyle, Andrew.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • Ellis, Dessie.
  • English, Damien.
  • Farrell, Alan.
  • Ferris, Martin.
  • Fitzpatrick, Peter.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Fleming, Sean.
  • Funchion, Kathleen.
  • Griffin, Brendan.
  • Harris, Simon.
  • Harty, Michael.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Heydon, Martin.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kehoe, Paul.
  • Kelleher, Billy.
  • Kenny, Martin.
  • Kyne, Seán.
  • Lahart, John.
  • Lawless, James.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • MacSharry, Marc.
  • Madigan, Josepha.
  • Martin, Micheál.
  • McConalogue, Charlie.
  • McDonald, Mary Lou.
  • McGrath, Finian.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McGuinness, John.
  • McHugh, Joe.
  • McLoughlin, Tony.
  • Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
  • Mitchell, Denise.
  • Moran, Kevin Boxer.
  • Moynihan, Aindrias.
  • Munster, Imelda.
  • Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
  • Murphy, Catherine.
  • Murphy, Eoghan.
  • Murphy, Eugene.
  • Naughten, Denis.
  • Naughton, Hildegarde.
  • Neville, Tom.
  • Nolan, Carol.
  • Noonan, Michael.
  • O'Brien, Darragh.
  • O'Brien, Jonathan.
  • O'Callaghan, Jim.
  • O'Connell, Kate.
  • O'Donovan, Patrick.
  • O'Dowd, Fergus.
  • O'Keeffe, Kevin.
  • O'Loughlin, Fiona.
  • O'Reilly, Louise.
  • O'Rourke, Frank.
  • O'Sullivan, Jan.
  • Ó Broin, Eoin.
  • Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
  • Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • Penrose, Willie.
  • Phelan, John Paul.
  • Quinlivan, Maurice.
  • Rabbitte, Anne.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Rock, Noel.
  • Ross, Shane.
  • Ryan, Brendan.
  • Scanlon, Eamon.
  • Sherlock, Sean.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smyth, Niamh.
  • Stanley, Brian.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Tóibín, Peadar.
  • Troy, Robert.
  • Zappone, Katherine.

Staon

  • McGrath, Mattie.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Richard Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy; Níl, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Denise Mitchell.
Amendment declared lost.
Question put: "That the motion be agreed to."
The Dáil divided: Tá, 40; Níl, 85; Staon, 5.

  • Adams, Gerry.
  • Brady, John.
  • Broughan, Thomas P.
  • Buckley, Pat.
  • Burton, Joan.
  • Collins, Joan.
  • Connolly, Catherine.
  • Crowe, Seán.
  • Cullinane, David.
  • Daly, Clare.
  • Doherty, Pearse.
  • Ellis, Dessie.
  • Ferris, Martin.
  • Funchion, Kathleen.
  • Healy, Seamus.
  • Howlin, Brendan.
  • Kenny, Martin.
  • McDonald, Mary Lou.
  • McGrath, Mattie.
  • Mitchell, Denise.
  • Munster, Imelda.
  • Murphy, Catherine.
  • Nolan, Carol.
  • O'Brien, Jonathan.
  • O'Reilly, Louise.
  • O'Sullivan, Jan.
  • O'Sullivan, Maureen.
  • Ó Broin, Eoin.
  • Ó Caoláin, Caoimhghín.
  • Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
  • Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
  • Penrose, Willie.
  • Pringle, Thomas.
  • Quinlivan, Maurice.
  • Ryan, Brendan.
  • Ryan, Eamon.
  • Sherlock, Sean.
  • Stanley, Brian.
  • Tóibín, Peadar.
  • Wallace, Mick.

Níl

  • Aylward, Bobby.
  • Bailey, Maria.
  • Barrett, Seán.
  • Brassil, John.
  • Breathnach, Declan.
  • Breen, Pat.
  • Brophy, Colm.
  • Browne, James.
  • Bruton, Richard.
  • Burke, Peter.
  • Butler, Mary.
  • Byrne, Catherine.
  • Byrne, Thomas.
  • Cahill, Jackie.
  • Calleary, Dara.
  • Canney, Seán.
  • Carey, Joe.
  • Casey, Pat.
  • Cassells, Shane.
  • Chambers, Jack.
  • Chambers, Lisa.
  • Collins, Niall.
  • Corcoran Kennedy, Marcella.
  • Coveney, Simon.
  • Curran, John.
  • D'Arcy, Michael.
  • Deasy, John.
  • Deering, Pat.
  • Doherty, Regina.
  • Donnelly, Stephen S.
  • Donohoe, Paschal.
  • Doyle, Andrew.
  • Durkan, Bernard J.
  • English, Damien.
  • Farrell, Alan.
  • Fitzpatrick, Peter.
  • Flanagan, Charles.
  • Fleming, Sean.
  • Griffin, Brendan.
  • Harris, Simon.
  • Harty, Michael.
  • Haughey, Seán.
  • Heydon, Martin.
  • Humphreys, Heather.
  • Kehoe, Paul.
  • Kelleher, Billy.
  • Kyne, Seán.
  • Lahart, John.
  • Lowry, Michael.
  • MacSharry, Marc.
  • Madigan, Josepha.
  • McConalogue, Charlie.
  • McGrath, Michael.
  • McGuinness, John.
  • McHugh, Joe.
  • McLoughlin, Tony.
  • Mitchell O'Connor, Mary.
  • Moran, Kevin Boxer.
  • Moynihan, Aindrias.
  • Murphy O'Mahony, Margaret.
  • Murphy, Eoghan.
  • Murphy, Eugene.
  • Naughten, Denis.
  • Naughton, Hildegarde.
  • Neville, Tom.
  • Noonan, Michael.
  • O'Callaghan, Jim.
  • O'Connell, Kate.
  • O'Donovan, Patrick.
  • O'Dowd, Fergus.
  • O'Keeffe, Kevin.
  • O'Loughlin, Fiona.
  • O'Rourke, Frank.
  • Ó Cuív, Éamon.
  • Phelan, John Paul.
  • Rabbitte, Anne.
  • Ring, Michael.
  • Rock, Noel.
  • Ross, Shane.
  • Scanlon, Eamon.
  • Smith, Brendan.
  • Smyth, Niamh.
  • Stanton, David.
  • Troy, Robert.
  • Zappone, Katherine.

Staon

  • Barry, Mick.
  • Boyd Barrett, Richard.
  • Coppinger, Ruth.
  • Kenny, Gino.
  • Murphy, Paul.
Tellers: Tá, Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Denise Mitchell; Níl, Deputies Joe McHugh and Tony McLoughlin.
Question declared lost.
Explanations under Standing Order 138(2A) as received from Members
Deputy Mick Barry, Deputy Ruth Coppinger and Deputy Paul Murphy abstained on this vote as, while supporting many of the points made in the text of the motion, Solidarity does not support using public land for the building of privately owned homes. Amendment 3 outlined some of the Deputies' ideas on using public land for public housing available to people of mixed incomes.
Sitting suspended at 1.50 p.m. and resumed at 2.30 p.m.
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