Mr. Declan Dunne:

I might address one or two of those points before letting others jump in. The two things that come to mind with regard to fast-track supply are acquisition and rapid building. I agree that we cannot have a thriving economy without having a functioning housing market. The state of the overall housing market has all kinds of impacts. For example, companies like Google are having to pay more to their employees in order that they can rent accommodation in Dublin. Public or social housing is a subset within the bigger bubble that is overall housing supply. The homeless factor comes below that, with the private renter in between. The movement between all of these linked factors is causing all sorts of difficulties. As a result, we are continuing with emergency accommodation that none of us wants to see in this day and age. We never wanted to see it.

I was asked about the approach that should be taken to fast-track supply. The nature of our planning and building system is that development takes a remarkable amount of time. Many of our organisations are approved bodies that are involved in the construction and supply of housing units. Between two and a half and three years can pass from the initial identification of a site to the actual delivery of housing supply. It is no different for local authorities. There is an urgent need for supply in the interim while all of that is being moved forward and while policy decisions on local authority housing are being made here and in the Dáil.

The first of the two routes that appear to be available is acquisition by local authorities and approved housing bodies. This is something that could move relatively quickly. When rapid-build housing, which is the second available route, was first mooted, many people reflected on whether such an approach was desirable. They expressed concern about the quality of the housing and whether we were entering into a two-tier system of good quality housing and very shoddy housing. I am happy to say that as things have moved on in this regard, it seems we are talking about faster built housing rather than poor quality housing. My understanding is that the current tender that has been issued in the Dublin region is for housing that is guaranteed to last a minimum of 60 years. The housing supplied in the Poppintree area of Ballymun appears to be of a very high standard. I know Depaul Ireland is involved in supporting that project. My own organisation, the Sophia Housing Association, is involved in supporting another scheme that is coming. I believe the targets we are setting are way below the pressing need that exists. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has highlighted that many millions of euro are being spent on hotel accommodation at the moment. I suggest that we accelerate acquisition as an interim emergency measure and that we also accelerate both the planning and construction elements of rapid building.