Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A total of 162 people lie sleeping on the streets in the immediate inner-city area of Dublin. There is a demand for housing and emergency accommodation. The supply is not there. A survey by KBC suggests that almost 250,000 people would look to purchase a house in the next three years. There is demand. House prices have been escalating because supply has not been forthcoming. If the Government pumps more money into the system, all it will do is increase house prices. To return to the basic question, are there any documents, papers or advice from the Department, the ESRI, the Central Bank or others that the Minister could give to the committee that suggest that this will not push up house prices? Such papers would inform our view as we carry on our work in terms of the preparation of the budget.