Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms O’Connor’s comment that this problem is not only based in Dublin but is rural and urban. I come from Waterford which is urban and rural. NAMA was here this morning. It is going to provide 20,000 houses by 2020. What concerned me is that 93% of these houses will be in the greater Dublin area and 7% in the rest of the country. In 2020 will the problem be pushed down the country?

Mr. O’Connell said the voids are not being turned over fast enough. Can he comment on the fact that last year in Waterford, 46% of the offers made by the local authority were turned down? I believe the figures are quite high in Cork too. Choice-based letting has come up a few times at this committee. This works quite well in Cork and Dublin and it might be worth looking into whether it could be rolled out throughout the country.