Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)

I do not have an exact figure for social housing at this stage as, obviously, some units will be approved and go to tender and so on during the course of the year. I will come back to the Deputy with information that is as accurate as possible.

The reality is there is not a huge level of public money and we have to ensure we get the best possible methods in place whereby we can provide homes for people. In some cases, these will be directly built in the traditional way but we must also find other ways, including using voluntary housing associations and encouraging private capital to help with that. Ultimately, what we are focused on is providing homes in whatever way we can for those who need them in what are very difficult financial times for the country.

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