Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

My questions are very straightforward. On the commentary on nothing being done, quoted by the Minister of State, Deputy English, I do not believe is the case. It is the case that what is being done does not appear to be working, unfortunately. That is the commentary. The crisis is escalating and the figures bear that out. It was poor judgment on the part of the Taoiseach to say what he said. It is not just me saying that. When one heard Fr. Peter McVerry on the radio earlier saying he was furious, one could imagine the views of those he helps and whom we want to help.

My question is similar to that of Deputy Ó Broin. I will try to make it as simple as I can in the hope the respective personnel and Minister will make the response as simple as they can. With regard to capital expenditure of local authorities, by the beginning of November €243 million was spent. Was it purely on construction, or was the figure inclusive of purchases? If both, could we have a breakdown? How many houses were delivered? Could I be told that if one figure is divided by the other, the cost of a house is €150,000, for example? How many houses are being delivered by the voluntary and co-operative housing sector based on the expenditure of €75 million?

A figure of €90 million was mentioned for other services. That is quite a large figure to throw in under that heading. I would like a breakdown of the other services. I do not see the repair-and-lease scheme, for example. Unfortunately, we know it has been a great failure.

Could I be told when the former Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, announced LIHAF? We need to learn from our past, even our recent past.

It has been 18 months to two years since that was initially announced, and not a penny has been drawn down on it. I asked about that some months ago, and of course there were contracts being prepared and signed and so on. Why is that the case? What is the problem with it, that it has not borne fruit much more quickly, as was expected, so that we might make improvements as was done on the repair and lease scheme? To bring it down to brass tacks, if the Minister can tell me that €243 million was spent on the provision of social housing and a certain number of houses were delivered, that tells me how much it is costing. Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance in Ballymun is acquiring State lands at €1,000 per site and providing housing units for between €140,000 and €200,000. That is affordable housing. That is social housing. That is delivery, and it should be replicated throughout the country, because if those figures are accurate, then that is the solution to our problem. As an example of our problem, one hears of a site in County Meath that was bought some years ago at the height of the boom. We are only getting half the potential units from it, because we are trying to recoup the costs of purchasing it some years ago. There is nothing affordable or social about that policy. I would like a breakdown of what we have delivered, and how much it costs to deliver each individual unit. I thank the Minister.