Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

At least the Minister of State is honest by saying “in time”. He is not giving us false hope of the speed of it.

I wish to make one final point. I will use my constituency as an example. Much of the housing in my constituency was built because the local authority compulsorily purchased the land. It identified the housing need. The State put in the infrastructure. The northern sewerage system was installed in the 1950s and Dublin Corporation, as it was, compulsorily purchased a huge amount of land – all the land in Coolock, Edenmore, Harmonstown, Kilbarrack, Kilmore as well as parts of Artane. Thousands of homes were built as well as shopping facilities, such as Northside Shopping Centre and Edenmore Shopping Centre. Sites were reserved for schools and other facilities. That was all because the State identified the housing need and the local authority compulsorily purchased the land and built housing. There was a lot of social housing and affordable purchase housing. There was some private housing in that as well. There was also some co-operative housing, not private as such but built on a not-for-profit basis. All of that was done more than 50 years ago because the State was proactive.