As we know, €127,000 is the combined salary that a couple must now earn to buy a three-bedroom, semi-detached house in Dublin, according to the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland today. The Government is pricing far too many people out of a home and could do much more to address this, such as by passing our Labour Party Bill to implement the Kenny report, or by launching a proactive construction recruitment programme to bring in more construction workers. Yet, we know that some of the price increases that people face when trying to buy a home are driven by delays and flaws in the planning system.

I want to focus on planning. Planning law in Ireland should be fit for purpose but our planning system is broken, mired in controversy, highly centralised and desperately slow. It is unfit to meet the needs of our growing population. The Minister acknowledged this when he promised us radical reforms but the Planning and Development Bill falls well short of the mark. He dropped the "use it or lose it" clause. There are concerns about the constitutionality of some aspects of the Bill. It will not address some key failures in our planning system. I want to hear more from the Minister about real reforms, such as on the Labour Party’s proposal to crack down on bribery in our planning system of the sort that was exposed by “RTÉ Investigates” on Monday night.

The Taoiseach told me on Tuesday that he was not convinced that a new stand-alone offence was required on this and we in the Labour Party disagree. It is vital that we crack down on planning corruption. Those who exploit the planning system for personal gain are not only making a quick buck off developers, they are also profiting at the expense of all those who want to move into a home of their own but who are locked out due to costs and delays. The actions of those who abuse the planning system increase the ultimate price for everyone. They increase the ultimate price of homes for us all. It is incumbent on the State to crack down on such practices but it seems that is not happening.

Last night, I was alerted to a concerning, recent and ongoing case. I was shown evidence of a party seeking to use the planning process to coerce a developer to pay more than €500,000 into an escrow account, in exchange for the withdrawal of an appeal to An Bord Pleanála. The party also insisted on the use of a confidentiality clause to cover it up. This feels like a return to the bad old days. In the correspondence I received, I saw evidence that this issue was brought to the attention of An Bord Pleanála months ago, but that no further action arose from it at the time.

As legislators, we have to act to address abuses within the planning system. We have to ensure that our planning system is not open to this sort of abuse because where it impacts in particular on residential developments, it is people who lose out and it is very serious. Is the Minister aware of cases of abuse like this within the planning system? What action does he propose to take to address them? Does the Minister now see the need to adopt our Labour Party amendment to the Planning and Development Bill to make this sort of behaviour a stand-alone offence? How else does the Minister propose to put an end to this sort of grubby deal and ensure our planning system is fit for purpose to deliver the homes and public infrastructure we badly need?

I thank Deputy Bacik for her question on this important issue. She will know we have commenced Second Stage of the Planning and Development Bill. As I have said, this is the most significant reform of our planning legislation that probably ever has taken place. It is a 700-page Bill that seeks to provide clarity, certainty and consistency in our planning legislation and system. That is crucially important.

I want to say to the Deputy that any amendments that are tabled will be looked at very seriously. We have not got to Committee Stage yet. I had hoped that we would have advanced further on Second Stage this week. Unfortunately, however, due to the Dáil business on Tuesday, which was tabled by the main Opposition party, it had to be paused. I agree completely with the Deputy that this matter is urgent but we have to consider this legislation very carefully. I certainly will work with constructive colleagues in the Opposition, such as the Deputy, as I have always done.

For the information of the House, I wrote to the Attorney General and the Department of Justice in advance of the “RTÉ Investigates” programme, which I find shocking. I have to say it is not surprising, because I have heard of cases. Regarding the specific case the Deputy mentioned, there was correspondence from the board to bring it to our attention. I would say to the person that under section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act and sections 6 and 7 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, such practices can be looked at. However, if a party such as the Labour Party brings forward alternative suggestions and feels we can strengthen that in the Planning and Development Bill, I would be open to that. I say that to the Deputy in all sincerity.

We must ensure that we have a planning system that delivers the infrastructure we need, including homes, hospitals, roads and the various different things we need to improve the lives for our citizens. That is why the legislation needed to be upgraded and why we spent 18 months in preparation for this legislation. We also need to resource our planning system. That is why there are now 50% more people working in An Bord Pleanála than there were when I took over as Minister for Justice. Sorry, that is my next job. As Minister for housing-----

That is your next job.

Indeed. We are filling those roles now. There are now 15 board members and 314 posts have been approved in the board. We were as low as five members last year with all the controversies that came about in An Bord Pleanála. We had to stabilise it and get it moving. I will happily work with the Deputy and colleagues in the Opposition to strengthen this further if that is required. There are two existing Acts, which I have referred to, where prosecutions can be brought on for these types of cases.

Certainly, we will work with colleagues in the Government and across the House to ensure we have effective reforms of our planning system. Everyone wants to see a fit for purpose planning system. I spoke last week on Second Stage of the Bill the Government introduced, but our concern is that while it is a mammoth Bill and the third largest in the history of the State, as the Minister has said, there seems to be very little by way of the radical reform that is necessary to overhaul procedures in An Bord Pleanála. We cannot lose this opportunity to ensure real progress is made on this Bill. I welcome the Minister’s commitment to work with me on the issue of the need for a stand-alone offence. I believe there are difficulties with using the existing criminal justice legislation to tackle this sort of corruption. I should say that some decades ago, the Labour Party exposed planning corruption and the cash-for-planning scandals in the planning system.

At the time, unfortunately, Fianna Fáil and many other parties left those calls unheeded. We want to ensure we do not miss this opportunity for radical reform and that whatever changes we bring in will address the real abuses of the planning system that are going on, that were exposed on Monday night and of which I have seen additional evidence.

This Bill is a major step forward and that is why it is important that we work together to get it passed as expeditiously as possible. There were some who accused us of rushing this Bill but we have not done so. We have engaged with stakeholders in the planning forum and right the way through. We had detailed pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill but Committee Stage will be important. I am not saying the Bill cannot be added to; it can. I am just saying the advice I have received from the Attorney General is there are two existing laws where prosecutions can be brought where someone is seeking payment in this way and in the way we saw on Monday night. That type of behaviour is reprehensible and disgraceful and it slows the delivery of much-needed homes for people. It is effectively a form of bribery - there is no question about that - and that needs to be called out every time it is done. I ask the Deputy to submit the information she has to my office, as I know she will, and I will work with her on Committee Stage. Second Stage continues today and I hope we will be able to conclude Second Stage in advance of Christmas.