Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is net income. That is an important distinction. You mentioned that the average cost of building a local authority house last year was €212,000 versus €177,000 for buying. The issue in Laois is that the local authority has eased off on acquisition because it was competing against other local families who were trying to get a start. It could have bought everything in sight but somewhere along the line it decided it was not being fair to other people. One can go in and out of the housing market. I understand you are relying on the chief executive to use some judgment on what is good for the overall environment. I doubt that anybody wants the local authority to go into an estate, buy everything available in that estate and let nobody else in.