Victor Boyhan urges debate on Housing Commission and GDD delays
Victor Boyhan spoke during a briefing with the Minister for Housing and Local Government, pressing for more time to debate the Housing Commission's recommendations and infrastructure delays. He said the scheduled hour-and-a-half session was insufficient and asked for further sittings after recess.
Briefing length and availability
He thanked the Leader for arranging the briefing but described the one-and-a-half hour slot as disappointing given the topic's importance. He raised broader concerns about ministerial availability and said if work was not completed today, members should plan for another session after recess.
Councils' concerns and engagement
Boyhan said he had received numerous emails from city and county councils and stressed that many elected representatives would be tuning in and expecting substantive outcomes. He argued that a high percentage of members are elected by councils and that their pressure to be advocated for is legitimate.
Request for a Housing Commission debate
He formally asked the Leader for a debate on the status and recommendations of the Housing Commission, noting the significant time, money and expertise invested in the Commission's work. He said the recommendations should be teased out in a detailed debate within the house.
Infrastructure delays - Greater Dublin Drainage and wastewater project
Boyhan cited a report in this morning's Irish Times about a 1.3 billion waste water project for Dublin that also affects Meath and Cladair, warning of a slowdown. He said Ishka are now saying the delay presents a major difficulty for the rollout of houses, and that delays to the Greater Dublin Drainage project - which serves over half a million people, he said - amount to an infrastructural deficit for housing that needs to be challenged and debated.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Thank you. Firstly, I want to thank the leader for facilitating and arranging a meeting today, or a briefing today, with the Minister for Housing, John Cummins. Local Government, should I say, John Cummins. It is only an hour and a half, and that's somewhat disappointing, but I know that's all the Minister has. And, you know, given that a very high percentage of us are elected by city and county councils, it is very disappointing. And if we don't complete our work today, I'd ask that we bear in mind that when we come back from the recess, we would have another session. It's a really, really important subject, and I know from numerous emails I got this morning from councils, they're engaged, they will be tuning in, and I think they're expecting a lot from us. I don't know what the Minister's going to say, but I know they're putting pressure on us, and rightly so, to advocate for them, and I don't think we're going to have sufficient time. I just would hope that we would put in more time at a later date, because I am conscious, you know, in the last few weeks that the lack of engagement by some Ministers in terms of their availability and time is now an area of concern. But there is another mechanism and another form where I will vent my concerns there. But I just want to flag that down to the Sianat Senators and to you, Leader. Leader, I'm asking for a debate on the status and the recommendations of the Housing Commission. In this morning's Irish Times, there was a story about the 1.3 billion waste water project for Dublin, but that also impacts on Meath and it also impacts on Cladair. And effectively, there's a slowdown in this project, of which Ishka are now saying it is now presenting a major difficulty for the rollout of houses. That's a serious concern to us, that the Greater Dublin Drainage GDD project, which serves over half a million people, and these delays will lead to major rollout, because this is an infrastructural deficit for housing, and there has to be a challenge and one I think we need a debate on. But I also think we need to have a debate to tease out all the recommendations. A lot of money, a lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of expertise went into the Housing Commission, and I think we should at least tease out those issues at a very detailed debate within this house. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
