Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will be glad to know that Dublin is a priority. We have a specific task force relating to Dublin and another task force relating to the rest of the country. I chair an oversight group. We have a specific group that delivers on that and we meet with it every week. The chief executive officer of South Dublin County Council is the chairperson of it.

We have issues relating to other major urban areas. Something that is often underestimated is the fact that we have major issues in some major towns, including commuter belt towns, which I see as a priority. That commuter belt is extending further than it had been expanding a few years ago. I regard it as a priority area for social housing and members of the committee would probably agree with me. I will certainly focus on that as regards looking at allocations and where we are going.

The question about the type of units is a very good one. There is a difference between the type of units and the percentage of them that were required in years gone by and what we need now. I am not sure if colleagues are aware of this statistic but it is one that always startles me. Approximately 70% of all people looking for housing are either single or single with children. This changes the dynamic of everything one does and reflects the way Ireland has changed. The volume of 20 or 30 three-bedroom houses built on the edge of town when we were building houses on a grand scale in the early 1990s will not work anymore. For starters, we need to deal with the demographic change. Second, we also need to deal with the fact that mixed tenure is probably the way to go and we need to work towards that in some fashion. The type of units is changing and we need to ensure that we adjust to meet that.

In respect of how we are analysing what we require across the country, I am happy to tell members of the committee that the Housing Agency has been working very closely with us on a deep analysis of the multi-units we need and where we need them so we will certainly be influenced by that.

HAP will be more successful as it is being rolled out. It is being rolled out further. We did some analysis relating to where we want it to be rolled out in the next five local authorities. I expect to be able to announce that in the next week. It is important. There is no doubt that HAP is dependent on supply. Having said that, with some tweaking, it can be more successful.

Voids are social housing units that are boarded up. Nothing infuriates me more than this subject. As one drives around Dublin, a city I know very well having lived here for nine years-----