Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have one comment on what my colleague was just saying. It occurs to me that this issue needs to be examined in respect of the area of health and the cases of nurses as well. Specifically in this context, though, concerning young gardaí and Garda recruits, we should consider purpose-built accommodation. Historically, this existed for the members of An Garda Síochána. We should look at this possibility now in a Dublin context. I say this because my colleague is correct that there is an issue. This happens in many capital cities now. People in a range of jobs, including teaching, nursing, the ambulance service, paramedics, and all these kinds of jobs, find it impossible to buy houses and, often, to rent houses in the capital. We should, therefore, examine purpose-built accommodation and its greater use. If we were to walk around the city here any day, we would see many derelict buildings and unused commercial office space. Converting these kinds of buildings should be considered.