As the Taoiseach and Minister may know, I am a long-time advocate of action on dereliction in order to provide more homes for people. Therefore, I welcome the introduction of Croí Cónaithe, the expansion of the repair and lease scheme and the increase in the money available for it. Will the Minister provide an update to the House on the extension of Croí Cónaithe to single, one-off, rural cottages, farm buildings and other derelict buildings? Will he consider an expansion of the repair and lease scheme to cover affordable private rent?

I thank the Deputy for his question. I will expand the repair and lease scheme to one-off rural houses this month. An announcement on that can be expected imminently. The guidelines for local authorities are also ready to issue. That will happen in the coming days. There is a lot of interest in it. We have had well over 400 Croí Cónaithe applications from towns and villages throughout the country to bring derelict and vacant stock into use, which the Deputy has spoken about many times in the House. It is a very good and simplified way of doing it. I will announce that in the coming days. We will also look at other options with regard to adding to affordable stock but I want to get Croí Cónaithe bedded in. It has been a good start since August and we want to accelerate that. I will keep the Deputy informed of progress.