Fianna Fáil is the party which, throughout its lifetime, has credited itself for being the provider of homes for generations. The previous Government issued guidelines that prevented housing development outside the M50. The Mahon tribunal found that, in effect, the planning policy adopted by Governments facilitated the practice of payment for zoning. Now, new planning policy is effectively demanding dezoning of large amounts of serviced lands in every rural town and, indeed, within the M50. Should the Government pursue this Stalinist policy, it will not achieve housing targets. Not only that, but it will create an environment where payment for planning permissions will return. Low income families will be forced into ghettoes and everybody knows the social problems that will ensue.

The Taoiseach may not be aware that up to 80% of land in rural towns will be effectively dezoned during the current development plan formation process. In Wexford town alone, 600 acres of mostly serviced land will be effectively dezoned. Planners repeatedly say that commercial considerations are not planning considerations. They clearly live in a parallel universe, as does the Planning Regulator.

I ask the Taoiseach to confirm that, in order to ensure the Government meets its housing targets, the following will not happen in the formation of county development plans across the country. The first matter is that no serviced lands for housing with existing planning permissions will be effectively dezoned. The second is that no tiered zonings will be applied to existing serviced owned lands, such that planning departments of local authorities can arbitrarily decide what lands get planning permission and what lands do not.

One of the facts of the current situation with housing is the enormous amount of land that has been zoned and the number of planning permissions that have been granted but not acted on. There is no shortage of zoned land or projects that have received planning permission, but the projects have not started. There is a big issue there that needs to be dealt with from a housing provision perspective. Some on the building sites say that there is a viability issue. That needs to be worked out and examined.

There is a broader policy with regard to spatial planning, developing brownfield sites and making sure that we get compact development in cities and in towns so that we utilise existing services and avoid excessive suburban sprawl. That is an important planning consideration. In many of our cities and towns, we have schools with capacity. We have a range of services with capacity. It makes sense to target those areas for additional housing or the refurbishment of existing buildings to provide for residential units. Substantial funding has been provided by Government in the urban regeneration and development fund to enable those areas to have the infrastructural investment to enable housing and apartment developments to take place within cities and towns on a significant scale. There is also a significant investment in water infrastructure, which is vital and has been a barrier to some construction projects.

In respect of county development plans, we do not interfere in the decisions that councillors may take or that councils as a whole, taking advice from their officials, will take in respect of county development plans. I take the Deputy's point that if land is good and serviced, we do not want to take it out of commission either because we need to build as many houses as we possibly can to catch up. Covid-19 has reduced capacity with the lockdown and shutting down of construction, so we need to build on average at least between 33,000 and 35,000 houses a year, as per the ESRI reports, to deal with the housing crisis. We are intent, as a Government, on providing for social housing and also affordable housing, and to give every support that we can to young people to be able to buy their own homes and realise a legitimate aspiration.

The Deputy has raised another part of the equation which I mentioned at the start of my response. There is the issue of a hell of a lot of land which has received planning permission but where little has happened. That is a concern.

It should be a concern because the planning policies we have today mean that most of what is expected is not viable. That is why developers are not building. High densities have been pushed on them. There is no viability in the development and, therefore, planning permissions have been granted but buildings will not be built.

I am glad to hear the Taoiseach confirm that there are issues with the policy, particularly dezoning serviced sites. It would make absolutely no sense. I hope the Taoiseach can appreciate that doing that would very quickly - not eventually - drive up the price of the land that is left. Does the Taoiseach believe that dezoning almost 80% of the zoned land in Wexford would make the remaining lands cheaper? That is not the purpose it would serve. Dezoning serves to do one thing, which is to put us back in a position where we are hosting another Mahon tribunal.

It is utter madness. I ask the Taoiseach to confirm that he will instruct the Minister to ensure that fully serviced lands with planning permission, which was extended during Covid-19, is not dezoned.

The Minister is doing everything he possibly can regarding the provision of housing. He does not interfere in county development plans to that degree and it is important that there are demarcation lines there in terms of-----

It is the Government's policy.

-----the actual county development plans. There is a question that begs to be asked. A lot of land has been zoned over the years and a question must be asked about why that land is not being built on. I am not so sure it is all just about viability.

It is because Government policy is Stalinist.

No, it is not.

Yes, it is.

It is not.

We have an ideologue as a planning regulator.

The Taoiseach without interruption, please.

Lots of people have submitted planning applications. Why go through the expense of all that if you did not think it was viable from day one? I am not saying there are not issues with viability in respect of apartment buildings and density. We are prepared to examine all that. However, there are enormous amounts of zoning in the country and planning permission has been granted.

Time is up.

It is not-----

Many other people are building.

Please, the time is up. I call Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, on behalf of the Rural Independent Group.