This morning, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, released an important paper on the impact of Covid-19 on the housing supply. It argues that the pandemic will result in a drop in the private sector supply of new homes. This will further widen the gap between supply and demand, making housing even more unaffordable for working people. The ESRI's central recommendation is commonsensical and crystal clear - the State must increase the supply of social and affordable homes. This is the only way to deliver homes more cheaply and efficiently.

Yesterday, the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, published its latest rent report. Despite Covid-19, rents remain unacceptably high. Throughout the State, they have risen by almost 2% since last June. Outside Dublin and the commuter belt, the increase was in excess of 3%. Too many people are trapped in a rental market with sky-high prices. They are put to the pin of their collars with extortionate rents stifling their potential and impacting on their ability to deal with the pandemic.

Last month, Daft.ie released its latest price report. Now, the average house price in Dublin is a staggering €380,000. Even a couple on good incomes are unable to afford a home in Dublin at such prices.

Gheall an Taoiseach go gcuirfeadh an Rialtas seo tithe inacmhainne ar fáil do dhaoine atá ag obair. Le linn an toghcháin i bhFeabhra, ba í an tithíocht an cheist ba mhó a bhí ann. Tá an iomarca daoine gafa i margadh cíosa le praghsanna ag ardú i gcónaí. The Taoiseach promised that the Government would deliver affordable homes for working people. During the election in February, housing was the main issue on the doorstep. People were crying out for affordable homes, with families left behind because of the failure of successive Governments to deliver.

If we ever needed a reminder of the importance of a stable roof over our heads, the pandemic has provided it. During the pandemic, people's homes have truly become their sanctuaries. If the Ireland that emerges after this crisis is to be in any way fair and one that gives people a decent chance and a fresh start, we have to get housing right. Decent, affordable and secure housing is the bedrock on which decent lives are built.

Despite all of the promises made by Fianna Fáil during the election, the sluggish approach of the Government to get to grips with housing is astonishing. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, spent the entire summer telling everyone that the Government's housing plan was on the way. On 7 July, he said that he would announce details of the new affordable scheme in September. On 9 July, he reiterated this on Newstalk and said that new affordable housing regulations would be ready to launch by September. On 12 July, he told thejournal.ie that new affordable home targets would be set out in September. Speaking in opposition to our motion on affordable housing in July, he again promised to announce the details of his new scheme in September.

Today is the last day of September. Hundreds of thousands of working people want to know where the Government's affordable housing plan is and why the Minister has not kept his and the Taoiseach's promise to launch the plan this month.

First, I think it is a good report by the ESRI. I want to say that, contrary to the pandemic increasing affordability issues in the sector, the ESRI is actually saying that, in the short term, affordability may have actually improved over recent months because of, to use its own phrase, "extraordinary fiscal measures [introduced by the Government] in the form of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS)". It does acknowledge extraordinary interventions by the Government.

That said, it does, of course, warn that, in the medium term, there could be a significant imbalance in terms of demand and supply, and we take that very seriously indeed. We already know that Covid-19 has negatively impacted on the building programme because of the lockdown itself. House completions fell by 32% according to the report. We are now looking at an expected outturn of 15,000 to 16,000 houses as opposed to the expected 24,500 because of the impact of the lockdown and the constraints that Covid has brought to the construction sector.

That said, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, was very quick off the mark with the July stimulus, with more than €40 million allocated to bring 2,500 social housing units back into play to be allocated to people on the housing list before the end of the year. That money went out to the local authorities. It was a quick action that had not been called for by anybody in this House but the Government took the initiative to get moving on it and get it done.

I agree with the ESRI that we need to build more social and affordable housing and, in particular, that we need to have a strong social housing programme built by local authorities and approved housing bodies. That is something the Government will be targeting and identifying in the Estimates for next year and the budgetary framework in terms of creating the framework that will facilitate a greater supply of affordable housing in the time ahead. The serviced sites initiative has been slow in getting off the ground, but there are concrete proposals under way which will develop results from that particular initiative.

Aontaím gan amhras go bhfuil ceist na tithíochta ar an ábhar is tábhachtaí i gcúrsaí sóisialta na linne seo. Is é sin an fáth go bhfuil sé mar phríomhfheidhm ag an Rialtas níos mó tithe poiblí a chur ar fáil do dhaoine atá ag feitheamh chun dul isteach go dtí na tithe éagsúla. Caithfimid níos mó tithe a chur ar fáil agus táimid chun níos mó infheistíochta a chur ar fáil chun na tithe seo a chruthú. Tá sé sin ríthábhachtach ar fad.

I also point out that the impact on the labour market, as the ESRI has shown, is unprecedented. We will be looking at the construction sector as a mechanism to create additional employment over the medium term in the context of the impact of Covid-19 on employment. Housing construction, both social and affordable, will help to underpin jobs in the construction sector and, indeed, increase the number of available jobs. That is why there was very substantial funding made available in the July stimulus for additional apprenticeships to be provided by giving incentives to employers to hire more apprentices, which is working, and to create a whole range of skill courses to provide for additional skill needs to meet the need to build more social and affordable housing. We agree that there is such a need.

Níl aon phlean ag an Taoiseach. Is í sin an fhírinne. Tá a lán le rá aige ach níl aon phlean aige. He cited the extraordinary income support measures that were introduced by Government. Of course, the Government has cut the pandemic unemployment payment and the wage subsidy and it has left tens of thousands of the lowest income workers out of the schemes. Please do not brag or hide behind those initiatives.

We were promised and the people were promised a scheme and a plan for affordable housing. We were promised we would see it in September but we have not seen it yet. To judge by the Taoiseach's response, I can only conclude that no such plan exists. If it does, will he tell us whether it is the Government's intention to publish it today? This policy of mañana, mañana and putting everything on the long finger seems to be one of the hallmarks of this chaotic Government, but it is not good enough. It is not good enough for people who, as we speak, do not have a secure roof over their heads, people who worry about rent, people who are in an extraordinarily difficult and precarious position, people who live in the box room of their mother's home, sometimes with their own children. Mañana, mañana is not good enough. Talk and sound are not good enough from the Taoiseach or the Minister. Has the Taoiseach an affordable housing plan? Where is the plan? We have not seen it in September. When will we finally see a plan for affordable housing?

The Deputy has a lot of talk and her party colleagues talk a lot, but what is absent, in my view, is any coherent plan in terms of employment, affordability or housing. They talk a lot about those things but, in my view, much of it is without substance. If one reads the ESRI report comprehensively, it uses the phrase "extraordinary fiscal interventions" in reference to the Government's actions, which Deputy McDonald just condemns, attacks and undermines. She has done so from the very beginning, in a very unrealistic way, and she continues to do so.

As I said, €40 million provided in July alone for 2,500 units was very quick off the mark. Deputy McDonald could not acknowledge that and had to come out and condemn it because that is her stock-in-trade. She will condemn anything that emanates from Government whether it is positive or not. That is the Sinn Féin approach, followed by seeking to undermine Ministers one by one. That is what the Deputy's party does. Alternatively, what the Government is doing is of real substance in terms of economic interventions from July onwards, not just in terms of the fiscal interventions but also in terms of the capital programme in July, which was very comprehensive and substantial and will underpin the construction sector into the future, from apprenticeships and right across the sector. In terms of social and affordable housing, we are committed to delivering it. Historically, we did it before as a party and we are committed now to delivering social and affordable housing. That will be clear both in the budget and in the time ahead.