Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is possible but I do not want to interfere too much in what local authorities are doing. What I do not want to do is have a local authority in a high demand area all of a sudden making acquisitions where either it fails in the acquisition, which then drives the price up for the private buyer who actually buys it, or where it takes away much-needed stock from young families and couples. We also need to be sure that local authorities are doing some regeneration, even if they were not previously residential homes, to make sure we can keep a vibrancy in communities. I am not speaking of the particular case the Chairman is talking about, because I am not familiar with it, but I am speaking about one in Tramore in Waterford where an old cinema was brought back into use as apartments and homes. There is a mixed community there in that some of the apartments there are for people with certain disabilities. What we have now in the centre of Tramore is an iconic building that was restored and that has a number of new people living in it and who are very happy their homes. That has been very good for the community and for regenerating the town. While it cost a bit more money and took a bit more time, in the longer term, it is a much more positive development. When I talk about Rebuilding Ireland and fixing our housing problem and doing it in a sustainable way, it sometimes means taking a little more time, and spending a little more money, but the long-term gain for the community and for the people is greater. There has to be flexibility on a site-by-site basis. If the Chairman is particularly concerned about a particular site, in terms of a massive cost differential, then maybe we could talk about it offline.