Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 7 Dec 2023

The complexity of our planning system is evident from the fact that we are putting a Bill through the House which runs to 741 pages. I believe it is the case, but to what extent does the Minister of State believe that the new Bill will improve alignment and consistency within the planning process? It is an issue on which, as TDs, we are consistently receiving representations on behalf of our constituents.

The Planning and Development Bill 2023 provides a range of measures to improve consistency across the planning system through clearer, more consistent policies and guidance throughout all tiers of planning, from national to local. Ministerial guidelines and policy directives will be upgraded to national planning statements. These statements will be approved by Government and subject to stakeholder consultation, including with councillors. It will be mandatory for all plans to be aligned to the policy element of national planning statements once issued.

In order to allow for flexibility of implementation, the associated guidance element, outlining how national planning statements should be implemented, will be more discretionary in nature. This allows the flexibility required for local implementation of national policy. All lower tiers of plans will be required to be aligned to higher order plans, with development plans aligned to regional spatial and economic strategies, which in turn will be required to be aligned to the national planning framework and national planning statements.

At local level, the Bill introduces a suite of bespoke area-level plans, which in turn will be consistent with development plans at county and city level. The Bill also aligns the tiers of plans with the availability of up-to-date census data, enabling more strategic planning, greater certainty that there is sufficient zoned land available at all times to meet housing, economic and energy need, and providing greater certainty for all stakeholders.

I welcome the Minister of State's answer. I think it will improve alignment and consistency, as he has outlined. One of the issues that I frequently receive representations on is from constituents who are concerned about delays coming from An Bord Pleanála. As every person in this House will know, in the recent past decisions of the bord have been extremely delayed not just in respect of larger developments, but even in respect of smaller developments in the constituency. I have been contacted by people who are concerned about that.

Obviously, what we need to seek to do in the Bill is to expedite the appeal process before An Bord Pleanála. The Minister of State may have seen the very disturbing documentary on RTÉ last Monday night, which showed how individuals can seek to undermine the integrity of the planning process by putting forward appeals which really are not legitimate. We saw that in the programme. I note that section 138 of the old 2000 Act, which is still in force, entitles the bord to strike out those appeals if it is thought they were made for the purpose of securing a payment of money or inducements. That is going to be contained in section 105 of the new Bill and I welcome that. Is there anything more that can be done to ensure that we do not have these frivolous and vexatious appeals being made to An Bord Pleanála?

As the Deputy is aware, the Bill itself provides statutory timelines for An Bord Pleanála. That will provide a degree of certainty and it should speed up the process in terms of appeals.

On the second point the Deputy raised, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on any individual planning cases. It should be noted that the Government is opposed to the abuse of any process, including the planning process, for personal gain to the detriment of the process. The planning system is an open process which incurs public participation. The Government does not condone behaviour which would interfere with the planning process as set out in legislation, or behaviour that would lead to a possible abuse of the courts system. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, wrote to the Attorney General and to the Minister for Justice in relation to the matter in July of this year. The Attorney General provided views and stated that matters such as these are provided for under current law. In addition to the legislation the Deputy referred to, notably section 17(1) of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 states: "It shall be an offence for any person who, with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another..." I also refer to section 6 of the Criminal Justice Act. It should be noted the Government is opposed to the abuse of any process, including the planning process, for personal gain. Anyone with any concerns regarding a breach of the law in respect of that should contact the Garda.

The Minister of State has correctly identified the criminal sanctions that are in place for individuals who seek to abuse the process in a criminal way. The point I was trying to make in respect of An Bord Pleanála is that it can be very difficult for the bord to identify if an appeal is vexatious or abusive. Perhaps the Minister of State and the Minister could give consideration to introducing a requirement that an affidavit to be sworn by any appellant bringing an appeal before An Bord Pleanála, setting out that the appeal that they are making is in good order and is done with proper motives, as opposed to what was suggested in the programme the other night.

It is important that we get the Bill through the Houses promptly. It is a very effective piece of legislation. I think it will speed up the process at An Bord Pleanála. Of course, Opposition parties will say, and perhaps there is some substance in it, that we also need to ensure that the resources within An Bord Pleanála are improved so that appeals can be heard in an expedited fashion. I thank the Minister of State for his answer.

As the Deputy is aware, we are increasing the staff of An Bord Pleanála to 300, so we are putting the resources into the bord. The point I would make is that we are open to consider any amendments to the Bill on Committee Stage. I expect the Deputy will bring them forward and we would welcome that. What we are looking for, with the new planning Bill, is to have a robust and fit planning system for a modern age that ensures there is a streamlined process that is fair for those who wish to bring forward objections. We must ensure that we uphold that under Aarhus principles. I look forward to the Deputy's contribution on Committee Stage of the Bill.

After the budget each year, the Department produces an abridged Estimates Volume, which not only lists the headings for each of the functions of the Department but also the amounts allocated to each spending item. By the end of the year that document is revised into what is called a Revised Estimates Volume which has an updated figure. In previous years I have been given some of that documentation. I am asking the Government to publish the abridged Estimates Volume and the Revised Estimates Volume for last year in the interest of transparency and to publish the abridged Estimates Volume from October of this year and give a commitment to publish the Revised Estimates Volume in December when it is agreed.

The documents referred to in the question are documents that are prepared and published by the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. The abridged Estimates for public services, AEV, are published as part of the expenditure report budget documents and detail provided for the Votes is limited to programme level. They vary and are hence called "abridged". They are published at budget time.

The Revised Estimates Volume for public services, REV, provides considerably more detail at subhead level, as well as performance metrics. The REV forms the basis for parliamentary scrutiny of allocated expenditure.

Deputy Ó Broin writes to the Department every year asking for that REV-level breakdown immediately following the budget. While my officials endeavour to be as open and transparent about indicative allocations emanating from the high-level programme allocation, I am very clear that these are not finalised until the publication of the REV in December.

Budget 2024 was presented and published on Tuesday, 10 October this year. The 2024 Estimates shown as Part III of the expenditure report reflected the expenditure adjustments announced by the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform on 10 October 2023 and detailed elsewhere in the expenditure report.

As regards the commitment to publish the REV for 2024, that is a matter for the Minister of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, of course, but it is routinely published and includes the individual spending programmes. If any changes to the REV arise, that is only following the process of further Revised Estimates which includes a Government decision, referral to the select committee on housing before referral back to the Dáil. That further Revised Estimate, fREV as it is known, is then published.

Clearly the Minister of State is very confused and does not understand what I am asking for. This is what I am asking for. Every single year since 2018 I have either written to the Secretary General of the Department or put in a parliamentary question requesting a breakdown not just of how much housing gets, heritage gets and local government gets, but every individual spending programme. Every year since 2018 I have been provided with that detailed breakdown. The Minister of State is absolutely correct in what he says about the abridged Estimates and the Revised Estimates. I think it would be in the Government's own interests not only to publish the full abridged Estimates with all the individual items, but also to publish the Revised Estimates so that there is full transparency in accountability.

Those documents are held by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; it is not a matter for the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. The documents it publishes do not go into the level of detail that I have been given by the Department of housing every single year. If the Minister of State is now saying there is a change in practice and that from this point on when Members ask they will not be given this detailed breakdown, that is a problem. In the interest of transparency, accountability and honesty, Government should provide this information. In fact, I believe it should be published on the Department's websites and should be given to the committee. It should not be up to an individual Member to have to harass and hound the Minister of State or God forbid put in a freedom of information request to get information that should be and must be in the public domain. I ask the Minister of State to reconsider, publish the three documents the Department has and give a commitment to publish the fourth when it is concluded at the end of this month.

The Deputy has raised this matter previously. Departments and governments have to have their own process in how they deal with documents. I reiterate that the Revised Estimate Volume for public services obviously provides considerably more detail. It is prepared and published by the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe. I understand that is due for publication in December and relatively soon. The details the Deputy is looking for must go through a formal process. That is the way Government functions and that is the way Departments operate. We need to have that rigorous process in terms of the normal due diligence process in Government. It cannot be done on an à la carte basis. The Deputy should await the publication by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform which will be relatively soon, I understand.

The Minister of State is completely missing the point. I am not saying he should give me information before it is agreed. I am saying that last year there was an abridged Estimates Volume with all of this detail and there was then a Revised Estimates Volume which was amended. I want him to publish both of those documents from last year. This year after the budget, an abridged Estimates Volume has been agreed; I would like a copy of that. When the formal process he mentioned is concluded, I would like not the information the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform publishes on its website because it is not as comprehensive as what I have been given previously. I want a commitment that the Department of housing will give us this now.

We cannot keep having this row and wasting the Minister of State's time and his officials' time. I can submit an FOI or make another complaint to the Ceann Comhairle as I had to do recently. The Department has given me this information every other single year. I do not understand why I have to come here and fight for it now. It would be much easier to give us the information from last year, give us the information that has been agreed this year, commit to giving us the final information at the end of the year and not waste the officials' time by forcing me to submit a freedom of information request or another complaint to the Ceann Comhairle. That is not fair to officials who are already working very long hours on a very difficult portfolio.

The Revised Estimate Volume, REV, is under the domain and jurisdiction of the Minister for Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. He will publish it very shortly. I hope the Deputy will await that, not go down the road of freedom of information and work with the normal process of Government.

I am asking about the role a private company will play in Uisce Éireann's capital investment plan. As we know, Uisce Éireann is a public body and so the finances will be scrutinised by the Comptroller and Auditor General. There has been talk about having a referendum to ensure it is kept in public ownership. I am concerned this might be the slippery slope to some privatisation.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 40 together.

The company referenced has been successful in an Uisce Éireann public procurement process and is one of eight companies placed on a framework for the provision of project management services in the delivery of the capital investment plan. The framework covers technical and project management services across water and wastewater.

Uisce Éireann is the national water services authority for the provision of safe, clean, affordable and environmentally compliant water and wastewater services to households and businesses across the country. It is a State-owned entity in public ownership and private sector investors will not be used to finance Uisce Éireann’s capital investment plan. Uisce Éireann has two shareholders: the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

The funding and regulatory model for Uisce Éireann was put in place following the 2017 report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services. The funding model is set in the context of the EU water framework directive, which is the overarching directive for policy in the EU.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, prepared a water services policy statement, which sets out the policy objectives and priorities of Government in the provision of water services, including meeting the obligations to protect and enhance the environment. In response to the water services policy statement, Uisce Éireann developed a capital investment plan and a multi-annual strategic funding plan. The capital investment plan sets out a clearly defined set of priorities to deliver improvements to water and wastewater services throughout Ireland where they are needed most urgently to meet our EU drinking water and wastewater service obligations while supporting balanced urban and rural development.

The strategic funding plan specifies the arrangements Uisce Éireann proposes to make and the measures it proposes to take to meet the policy objectives of the water services policy statement, incorporating its estimated funding requirements for investment and operating costs, together with sources of funding.

The strategic funding plan also specifies the estimated costs of both domestic and non-domestic water services and the expected income of Uisce Éireann to meet these costs. The cost of providing domestic water services, other than excess usage, is met by Exchequer funding through the annual budgetary and Estimates process, having regard to the regulatory process undertaken by the CRU. In addition to the domestic water services subvention, a capital contribution is provided through our Department's Vote for capital investment in the domestic sector. The cost of providing non-domestic services is met by charging tariffs to non-domestic users.

Uisce Éireann also borrows money to part-fund the non-domestic capital investment portion, with such borrowings being classified as non-voted expenditure and provided to Uisce Éireann through a State borrowing facility from the Minister for Finance.

By way of reassuring the Deputy, Uisce Éireann is a publicly owned utility and will remain so. It is something that the people of Ireland wanted. It is something we wanted in this House. I can categorically say there is no intention to change that in the future.

The way of really ensuring that, as the Minister of State knows, is to have a referendum for constitutional change. There should be an amendment to the Constitution to enshrine that. The concern here is that a private company has been lined up - Mott MacDonald has been named in media - to provide services in relation to capital works for Uisce Éireann. As I understand it, the partner of that company is J. Murphy and Sons. In the press release from that company back in October, Mott MacDonald stated "The building, repair and upgrading of Uisce Éireann’s water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, water and sewer network requires a multi-billion euro investment programme over many years." It concluded that as the company looks to improve current infrastructure, build capacity for the future growth and meet the challenges of achieving carbon neutrality, the capital investment plan will aim to bring in those funds from the private sector investors. That is what it said. That last sentence was subsequently deleted from the press release. I am looking for clarification from the Minister of State on this important issue.

Again, by way of reassurance, when local authorities were in the stewardship of the provision of water and wastewater services there were always design build operate, DBO, contracts in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services. It is the case, as I stated at the start, that this is for the delivery of project management for Uisce Éireann. The utility that is Uisce Éireann is publicly owned. Again, I stress that will remain the case unless it is changed by a vote that is put to the people. The work that Uisce Éireann carries out is fully funded by the Exchequer, apart from excess use. The capital funding to provide water and wastewater infrastructure is fully funded by the Exchequer, as was required and has been supported in this House.

Yes, but Uisce Éireann has a whole battalion of engineers and people who should be capable of project management. The Minister of State and I also know that DBOs are very expensive. Anyone who follows local authority budgets will see that every year in their annual budgets when they look at services that have been provided. While in theory it may be publicly owned, the fear is regarding the amount of private sector control over it. I understand that private companies will have to be brought in to design and build projects, but the level of influence and control can slip very easily.

In relation to the company concerned, one of its partners has been accused by one of the trade unions, Unite, of union-busting in respect of workers who were sacked. The Minister of State will be able to see the slippery slope here. This is not just about protecting the water services, it also about protecting the quality of jobs. In this House, we have a responsibility, because if the cheque is written out here and sent over to Uisce Éireann, we have a job to ensure that we get good value, good outcomes for public money, that it stays in public ownership and that the workers who are providing the services are treated properly. Again, I want to restate my party's position and my own, which is that public ownership of Uisce Éireann needs to be enshrined in the Constitution.

Again, there is a commitment to a referendum on the public ownership of water. Uisce Éireann as a public utility is enshrined in legislation, and that would have to be changed through subsequent legislation. That is the case. I will go back to the point of the DBO projects. I refer to the scale of the challenge for water and wastewater delivery. In this House, we speak on a daily basis about the delivery of housing, but the delivery of infrastructure for water and wastewater is a critical component of that. Uisce Éireann cannot carry that out within its own staffing complement and resources. It has to be the case that we use these DBOs to deliver the projects. Again, I want to give reassurance that Uisce Éireann is a publicly owned utility and will remain so. However, it does use the services of private companies for project management and project delivery of its capital programme.

As the Minister of State knows, as we head into Christmas, there are 13,000 people who are living in emergency accommodation. A particularly terrible aspect of that is the significant rise in family homelessness. More than 1,800 families are living in emergency accommodation, including 4,000 children. Those figures are consistently rising. I want to know what particular measures the Government will take to address family and child homelessness.

I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for his question. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key Government priority. Critical to supporting households to exit homelessness is increasing the supply of housing. Record State investment of €4.5 billion has been made available this year to support the largest State home-building programme ever, including 9,100 new-build social homes and 5,500 affordable homes.

Budget 2023 allocated funding of more than €215 million for the delivery of homelessness services. On 29 November, an additional €102 million was approved by the Cabinet by way of a Supplementary Estimate for the provision of homeless services in 2023. This brings the total now to €217 million for homelessness services.

Local authorities have been sanctioned to acquire at least 1,500 social homes, mainly focused on acquiring properties where a social housing tenant has received a notice of termination due to a landlord’s intention to sell the property. For private tenants at risk of homelessness who are not in receipt of social housing supports, the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme has also been introduced.

Housing for All includes measures to enhance family support and prevention and early intervention services for children and their families through a multiagency and co-ordinated response, and the dissemination of innovative practice. There is also a measure to identify and provide enhanced tenancy sustainment supports to families experiencing long-term homelessness to help them exit from homelessness and maintain their homes. These actions are being delivered in conjunction with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Tusla. I continue to work with the national homeless action committee to ensure there is a continued focus by the various stakeholders to support households and individuals experiencing homelessness.

The Minister of State has quoted a lot of policies, figures and so on, but the important figure here is the number of people in homelessness, as well as the consistent rise, which has been pretty dramatic over the past months, in family homelessness. It is rising. The Government's policies are not working and, therefore, a number of children are going to go through the trauma of spending Christmas in emergency accommodation, in many cases for the second, third and sometimes fourth year in a row. There is all the mental health trauma that involves for children.

There are many aspects to this. First, we are not working with the families who are in this situation to get them out and we are not thinking outside the box. Second, where blocks and so on are being purchased by AHBs and local authorities, which I welcome and which I have pressed for, many of them are one and two-bedroom properties because that is what the developers are building. They are not building three and four-bedroom properties. We need three and four-bedroom properties to help families exit homelessness. That is the reason that family homelessness is rising. The Government needs to pay attention to that and do something about it.

We want a mixture of the type of units available. One and two-bedroom units are important and three and four-bedroom units are equally important. We note the point the Deputy makes and it is something we always look at. We are always looking for local authorities and AHBs to provide the three and four-bedroom properties as well.

I want to put it in context. Last year, 5,478 people were either prevented from going into homelessness or exited homelessness. For the first three quarters of this year that figure is 4,614. There are proactive measures to deal with getting people out of homelessness. Within the national homeless action committee there is a subgroup on children and families looking at that specific aspect. There is also a housing-led family support scheme. It is part of Housing for All and we are taking careful consideration of that. On children, the Taoiseach has set up a specific division with his Department to look at that.

Children should not be in emergency accommodation. I pressed for the tenant in situ scheme for years and the Government is doing it and it has made a difference. I have also pressed for the Government to buy social and affordable housing straight from the developers, which the Government is starting to do, and I welcome that. I am telling the Minister of State there are not enough three and four-bedroom properties. No child should be homeless but there should be a time limit for how long a child spends in emergency accommodation. It is wrong that there are children I know who have been in emergency accommodation for four years. That is utterly unacceptable. There needs to be a particular focus on ensuring that children do not end up in emergency accommodation, and if they do, that they get out. There are plans for more social housing and so on but many of them are too far down the list. We need to start buying three and four-bedroom properties.

In the context of this question, I wonder whether the Department has the capacity or maintains a database of properties that have been applied for, either directly for social housing or where there is a known element of social housing to be delivered in a private estate. Does the Department maintain a register of failed projects? I am specifically asking about the number of projects that are slipping through the cracks and not being delivered as a result of either objections or technical issues with planning applications. It would be helpful for us to see a broader picture of the flow of social homes, and what Deputy Boyd Barrett is referring to, family homes, or both. Those family homes will primarily come in private estates with a particular percentage that should be delivered as part of that housing application.

Deputy Boyd Barrett makes a clear point. He mentioned a specific case and I ask him to forward me details of that case and I will follow up on it. The tenant in situ scheme has been a great success. There have been 1,196 acquisitions to date and there are 1,000 more in the pipeline. Many of those are three and four-bedroom properties. I welcome the fact that the Deputy acknowledged that it has worked.

On Deputy Farrell's point, applications for funding come through the local authorities but they come based on applications they have received. If there is a Part V element it arises if the estate proceeds. I suggest that the Deputy writes to me on what he is specifically looking for so that we can feed it into the process. The Department deals with applications as they arise. Those applications flow through the local authority for social housing, either by way of Part V, through the capital assistance scheme or through the local authorities themselves. We had record numbers of homes built last year and we are on track with our output again this year but I ask the Deputy to write to us.

The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority was established, and its functions commenced, on 17 July 2023. Up to year-end 2023, the focus of operations is to build on the pre-established work of my Department, embedding both the governance structures and the consenting regime of the agency. A recruitment process is currently under way to enable MARA build expertise in its people, processes and technology.

In undertaking its work, MARA has prioritised the development of its consenting processes for maritime area consents, MACs, and maritime usage licences, including: preparation of guidance; development of application forms; preparation of statutory notices; and associated secondary legislation. It has also commenced consenting application processes for MACs and licences, including holding pre-application meetings with prospective applicants. All phase 1 MACs, which relate to the development of offshore renewable energy, have transferred to MARA from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications in line with the provision of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021. MARA continues to engage with that Department on a range of policy issues. MARA is an independent agency in the performance of its functions in accordance with the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021.

MARA's responsibility is broad and includes: MACs for specified activities; enforcement of MACs; licences and offshore development consents; investigations and prosecutions; administration of the existing foreshore consents portfolio; fostering co-operation between regulators of the maritime area; and managing the existing State foreshore portfolio. As the Deputy can see, MARA has a broad range of functions and important responsibilities in an area of the marine that will be hugely significant from an economic perspective and in the protection of our marine area.

I thank the Minister of State for the response and update. I am very passionate about offshore wind generation but Ireland has a significant success story to tell in the delivery of onshore wind generation, which I would like to see us continue. The key to our success as a potential clean energy exporter is for us to staff, equip, fund and deliver on the commitments we have given and we can only do that with MARA.

What is the capacity of the organisation? I fully accept that it has only been established for six months but what is the capacity of the organisation to help us meet our 2030 targets? As I am sure the Minister of State will accept, it is looking highly unlikely that we will reach our 5 GW offshore wind target. It is not for the lack of trying or ambition. It is primarily down to the bogged down process we have developed over generations when it came to planning. MARA is a fresh look and a fresh take and that has been required. I commend the Minister of State and his Department on the work they are doing but it is crucial that they are funded appropriately and provided with the necessary level of expertise to get this job done in order that we can close the loop and ensure the MACs the Minister of State has mentioned are successful in the first place.

I agree wholeheartedly with the Deputy. This is critically important for the State and our ambition in offshore renewables.

I assure the Deputy the Government is ensuring the resources required for MARA to deliver on that ambition are put in place and there is support to do so. As I said, it has gone from a standing start when its functions commenced on 17 July this year towards looking at the resources it needs. It has a very good board in place, chaired by Mark Mellet, a retired vice admiral of the Naval Service. The board has a broad range of skills required to help deliver.

On the Government's ambition, it is vitally important MARA continues to be supported to deliver on what is a very ambitious programme. I am confident we have the infrastructure in place to realise that ambition.

I am pleased to hear the Minister of State make those comments. I have no doubts about the capacity of Mark Mellet. I know the man well. I was on the justice committee and defence committee for many years and so had reason to meet him many times. I am acutely aware, though, of the pressures on both the private and public sectors when it comes to hiring people with the appropriate level of expertise across the board, whether it is the person making the cup of coffee or the one planning the next wind farm off the coast of Wicklow, Waterford, Wexford or wherever else we are looking. There are extreme pressures in that regard and I want to ensure we have the capacity to be flexible when it comes to recruitment concepts coming out of MARA on how the authority can reach the level of expertise it needs to deliver these targets. It will do so, not for us, but for the environment and the less well-off who we must support through energy poverty, among other things, by dramatically reducing the overall cost of the generation of electricity. I can see this extraordinary potential off the coasts of Ireland, especially off the Atlantic coast, and we can only do that if MARA is a success.

I again agree wholeheartedly. There is no doubt there is a race on and it is not just on in Ireland, but right across Europe and globally. The resources the Deputy spoke about are therefore required across the world. Ireland is competing in a very competitive market for the expertise required. The Department has worked on giving certainty to the sector. The delivery of offshore renewables is interrelated with the marine environment, special protection areas for birds and all those areas. We are working to ensure our offshore renewables can work in a way that is compatible with the protection of marine biodiversity. The State will certainly not be found wanting in the provision of resources. The issue is one of trying to attract the skilled professionals we need and, as I said, it is a competitive sector because all countries are in the race to totally decarbonise. The State will continue that ambition into the future.

As the Minister of State knows, the River Shannon rises at the Shannon Pot in the Cuilcagh Mountains in County Cavan. It is a massive national and natural resource for our country. A huge part of that waterway is now navigable, making it a massive tourist and recreational amenity for our own people and visitors to our country. As the Minister of State will know from the files in the Department, I am anxious that the stretch of this river from Lough Allen to Dowra village in County Cavan also be made navigable. Some years ago, significant preparatory work was done on making this specific stretch navigable. Dowra is the first village on the River Shannon and I would like that stretch to be given immediate attention if possible.

I thank the Deputy for asking this question. He and I were both present at the launch of Waterways Ireland's ten-year strategy down the street from Leinster House. It presents very exciting opportunities, including, as the Deputy said, regarding the potential for our navigable waterways to be economic drivers in rural communities in particular.

The navigation to Lough Allen through the Lough Allen canal was restored and reopened in 1994. Since then, Waterways Ireland has developed and maintained facilities for boats at a number of key locations, including significant marina developments at both Cleighran More and Drumshanbo, along with harbour facilities at Spencer Harbour. Waterways Ireland has obtained planning permission for the development of a boat slipway at Spencer Harbour. This project is due to commence in 2024 and will complement the harbour as a boating amenity and provide enhanced access to Lough Allen. Waterways Ireland is actively examining initiatives to further enhance Lough Allen and the surrounding communities in line with the strategic initiatives outlined in the Shannon tourism master plan, including to establish discovery points similar to those along the Wild Atlantic Way, the River Shannon and the Shannon-Erne waterway.

Regarding the extension of the navigation up the river to Dowra, I am advised that Waterways Ireland, having been unsuccessful in obtaining planning permission more than ten years ago, has established a team to re-examine the possibility of extending the navigation toward the village of Dowra. A tender package is being prepared to engage ecological consultants to complete a new environmental impact assessment of the project. This study and the accompanying proposed preliminary engineering design will be progressed in parallel throughout 2024. It could potentially be a very positive project, but again it is in a process now.

I thank the Minister of State sincerely for his positive response and welcome that this project is being actively looked at again. I hope the environmental impact statement and other associated preparatory studies will be successful. Our local councillor in that area, Councillor John Paul Feeley, and I worked extremely hard to get investment at the Shannon Pot. Fortunately, through the Department of tourism and Cavan County Council, more than €6.5 million has been secured to provide and construct a major interpretive centre at the Shannon Pot. There will be a number of amenities, visitor displays and walking trails. This links in, as the Minister of State knows, with the Cavan Burren Park and also the cross-Border Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark. The extension of the navigation to as near Dowra as possible would fit in with the overall tourism development plan for the upper Shannon region. We are talking about projects that are of huge importance not just to Cavan and Leitrim but to the upper Shannon region and the entire Border region. I am very glad that some months ago the Minister of State's Department purchased thousands of acres of additional land to extend the unique, cross-Border geopark, of which Dowra is part. The village is quite near the Shannon Pot and would be excellent to have navigation as near to it as possible to ensure we maximise the potential of the massive resource that is the River Shannon.

I again agree wholeheartedly with everything the Deputy has said. The potential here is immense, especially for parts of rural Ireland and the Border counties. It could provide a viable and vital economic driver for the region. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I are deeply committed to supporting the work of Waterways Ireland in trying to achieve that, along with partners. The tourism master plan is the vehicle by which these projects can be delivered.

On the specific project, it is in a process so I will not comment any further. I am, however, of the view that maximising this potential will deliver huge benefits to rural communities. We cannot discount the cross-Border, all-Ireland nature of Waterways Ireland's remit. That is why we have invested significantly not just in the Shannon, but also in the entirety of navigable waterways. There are very exciting times ahead for our waterways. I again thank the Deputy for bringing this question forward.

As I said, Councillor Feeley and I advocated very strongly for investment in the tourism project that is the broader Cuilcagh area. Many years ago, in the early nineties, I was involved in the restoration of what was then the Ballyconnell-Ballinamore canal to make it the Erne-Shannon waterway. Great credit is due to Waterways Ireland, and the Office of Public Works before it, for restoring many of our canals and ensuring we are working to maximise the potential of the River Shannon, which is a majestic 360 km stretch of waterway.

It is important that we use the River Shannon nearest its source as much as possible. Developing that particular stretch, bringing it to Dowra, making it possible for boats to moor near the village and allowing people to access the services, shops, hospitality, etc., in Dowra village will be of enormous benefit to an area that has suffered so much due to the Troubles over many decades. I again emphasise the importance of the cross-Border nature of the work of Waterways Ireland and of the development of our tourism product. Cuilcagh Mountain is in the Cavan-Fermanagh area.

I thank the Deputy and Deputy Feighan for the work they have done on this matter. As I said, the process is ongoing and the tender package is being prepared around the new environmental impact assessment, EIA, for the project. We will await the outcome of that.

One thing I was conscious of at the launch of the strategic plan was that Waterways Ireland is showing a level of ambition for our waterways that is very exciting and not just here in Dublin. It has ambition along the Grand Canal in respect of live-aboards and living communities. There is also the North-South element to the organisation. It has been a challenge from a political perspective not having institutions in place. At the same time, Waterways Ireland has continued its good work. This project in particular will, over time, deliver immense benefits, in particular for rural communities along the waterways. They will benefit from the development that has taken place in recent years.

I thank the Deputy. The Housing Act 1966 provides for the charging of rent by local authorities on social housing tenancies. Rents are based on household income levels, with those on lower incomes paying lower rents. This system is known as the differential rents system. It is a critical piece of the State's welfare apparatus, subsidising housing costs and supporting households who cannot meet their long-term accommodation needs from their own resources. The system currently comprises 32 income-based schemes which differ across local authorities, with amounts charged and approaches to calculating rent varying considerably.

Housing for All commits to developing proposals to review the existing differential rent system and to provide for a standardised national local authority social housing rent model. The objective is to develop and implement a model that provides the best blend between fairness, progressiveness and sustainability.

My Department has completed an initial scoping exercise to determine the focus of the review. Further work is required to consider the practical application of such a scheme in the context of other reform package measures, as well as the broader circumstances of social housing funding programmes and the cost-of-living issues. Proposals will be submitted for my consideration in due course and any decision to implement a standardised national rents scheme will be considered thereafter, as appropriate.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I thank the Minister of State for that information. I welcome that the Department recently undertook a scoping exercise. I hope the review into the differential rent scheme will start and finish as soon as possible. I know that Family Carers Ireland made a submission, and I will deal with that in my supplementary contribution. For now, I will speak about how we ended up in this situation in the first place. The mass sale of social housing from the 1970s onwards is where the cracks in the model began to show. Originally, the premise was that better-off council tenants would subsidise those less well-off by paying higher rents as their means allowed. In the 1950s, this made perfect sense. Unfortunately, the State then made decisions to allow significant tenant purchase of council houses and that has now resulted in price gouging, second homes and Airbnbs stopping families from living in estates in their own towns and villages. Allowing the more affluent tenants to purchase their council houses reduced the local authorities' incomes and forced upward the rents for those left. It also reduced the financial power of local authorities to build new stock and we have seen the knock-on effect of failing to replace the housing stock we allowed to be bought. This is a scheme that was supposed to protect vulnerable people but, unfortunately, it left them even more at risk of poverty. The situation can create poverty traps and discourage tenants from seeking additional income.

The differential rent scheme was, as the Deputy said, designed to provide rent at an affordable rate to tenants and provide income to local authorities to ensure they can maintain those properties. That has not changed and remains the model. One of the reasons we are doing a review of the differential rent scheme is to deal with the inconsistency between local authorities. The Deputy will go on to talk about the fact that the income people receive from different sources is, or is not, taken into account. We are committed on that level. We want to ensure a good supply of social housing. We supplied 10,263 last year, across the spectrum. We had the highest number of new builds in many years. Our focus is to meet the targets we have set down for this year.

My constituents in Clare should not be paying the fourth highest rate of local authority rent in the country just because the local authority has decided not to disregard their full- or half-rate carer's allowance. The current system means that because of geography, identical household types are paying considerably different rates irrespective of the quality or size of their accommodation. Such inequality needs to be addressed, as the Government has recognised in relation to the scoping exercise and the commitment to a further review.

I recently met Vicky and Fiona from Family Carers Ireland. As the Minister of State knows, that organisation made a detailed submission to the scoping exercise, highlighting some of the serious inequality faced by family carers as a result of the current differential scheme. The current scheme has created significant disparity and inequality when it comes to carers. Given the focus on the importance of care in this week's Dáil business, and the timely announcement of a referendum, it seems like a good time to raise the issue. According to the 2022 census, there are 8,245 family carers in my constituency of Clare. Any carers who live in Clare and receive a full or half-rate carer's allowance are immediately at a disadvantage.

I thank the Deputy. Carers do great work and the people for whom they care are hugely important. The Deputy has raised the issue in her constituency of Clare. We welcome the submission from Family Carers Ireland. It is something we will take into account in our scoping and review exercises. We want to ensure we bring about consistency in the schemes. I take on board the points the Deputy has raised.

My constituency has been a significant beneficiary of Government policy and we now have over 2,000 social homes and 3,500 affordable homes in the pipeline. The crux of the matter is that there are not enough affordable homes for purchase. Too many are going in the buy-to-rent direction. I need to see initiatives to change that.

In the limited time I have, I will say that this is a matter the Deputy has raised on many occasions and we take what he says on board. We want that mix. The LDA is moving into that affordable purchase space. We want to look to increase that.

The Croí Cónaithe cities scheme was launched in May 2022. This scheme is a viable measure designed to support the building of apartments for sale that would otherwise not be built, providing a greater range of tenure in our urban centres. The scheme aims to bridge the gap between the delivery cost for buildings and apartments and the market price, where the cost of building is greater.

People can also avail of the first home scheme and can use it in conjunction with the Croí Cónaithe scheme, and also in terms of the help-to-buy scheme. The Croí Cónaithe cities scheme is part of a suite of housing measures designed to increase social, affordable and private supply.

As the Deputy referenced, the LDA can apply under the scheme to develop and sell apartments at market to owner-occupiers. The LDA can also deliver affordable purchase apartments at below market value.

The Deputy's point is well made. We are working with the LDA.

The LDA is very much doing that mix. In terms of affordable purchase, even in my own area of Limerick it is working with the local authorities. It is something that we keep under constant review.

I would suggest two things, if I may. First, the cities fund should be used by a partnership of the LDA and the local authorities to develop the affordable purchase piece. Second, the local authorities should create a pipeline of a substantial number of eligible buyers with provisional approval in order that developers, whether the LDA or others, can have confidence that there will be enough people to purchase homes. The risk factor is the problem and is stopping this option being developed.

The local authority affordable purchase fund can be used by the LDA in conjunction with the local authorities. That is there and that is its intended use. The local authorities and the LDA can partner up and funding can be provided under the local authority affordable purchase fund.

Many local authorities are already seeking expressions of interest from potential purchasers under the affordable purchase scheme. Indeed, we are encouraging the local authorities to do that. We are in constant contact with them and I will follow up on this to ensure that it is being done nationwide.

That is correct although in some cases they advertise beforehand. I have seen some local authorities advertise schemes in advance of them being built. They identify schemes and before they are built, they advertise them. The Deputy's general point is well made though and is something on which I will follow up.