Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very interested in Mr. Abebe's comments because I have studied this particular issue for many years. In respect of the durability of the housing units, I realise different countries have different traditions, but if one is spending money in today's economic climate, value for money and cost benefit analyses have to come into it. In the case of shanty town or slum reconstructions, to what extent is preference given to a greenfield development alongside the original site? It is far cheaper to start afresh on a greenfield site than to attempt to overhaul an existing tumbledown structure where the money will not go any distance at all.

In regard to durability, I am not sure whether the witnesses have been involved in the reconstruction effort in Haiti, to give a classic example, or more recently in the Philippines, two areas which suffered very significant devastation. Members of the committees have visited various locations in recent years where there is a clear urgency, in appalling slum conditions, to provide a reasonable quality of housing. How people remain calm in those situations I will never understand. They are a breeding ground for social unrest. It is a fundamental right of human beings to have reasonable accommodation in which to live. It is about treating people with some type of dignity. Durability is an important aspect of that, recognising that in some areas, residents of housing of a less durable nature have suffered very heavily, whereas more durable dwellings have been better able to withstand natural disaster shocks.