Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to see data but I probably would not dispute that and there is a good reason for it. God help the many people who were forced to buy properties in many of the developments built during the Celtic tiger period because many of the properties that were built were not up to standard and were not overseen in the way that they should have been. We know of the consequences of that in some of the bigger developments. The same was the case in many smaller developments. Many apartments and houses in Dublin were built with breeze blocks. It is unbelievable that was allowed under the regulations. That would not be in the case in local authorities where standards were different. I acknowledge this is a matter for the Minister with responsibility for housing. However, he has rejected the suggestion put forward in the Deputy McGrath's amendment to carry out such a study. That recommendation was made by the all-party Committee on Housing and the Homelessness but it has not been actioned and it should be.

In the context of a review of this scheme, we should have that information when we examine the overall data on how much it costs to build a private house in certain areas in this State. The issue Deputy Boyd Barrett raised should be added to that. It is not a question of how much it costs to build a social housing unit or scheme. The real question is the net cost of that to the State. It may cost a developer €220,000 to build a house but with money going out on the one hand and coming in on the other, what would be the real cost for the State to build a social housing unit across the road today? The labour costs may be €50,000 but €20,000 of that would come back to the State through income tax. The materials may cost another €40,000 but that can be reclaimed in VAT. The net cost of building a social housing unit in the State has never been provided and that should be considered. I will move on from that issue because it is not the Minister's area of responsibility but at Cabinet there is a requirement to try to influence the Minister with responsibility for housing to make sure that this type of all-party recommendation is executed as quickly as possible.

On the section, with which financial institutions did the Minister engage when he consulted on the help to buy scheme? Will he explain to the committee the nature of those consultations, who he met and the response to them? Was it the Minister or his officials who engaged in that process and how were they chosen?