Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is. I have a copy of the memo here. I also have copies of replies to parliamentary questions I tabled in the intervening period. The Minister can come back in at the appropriate time because I want this cleared up.

There are hundreds of very concerned people and their concerns need to be addressed very clearly. A memo to the Minister's press office - coincidentally and ironically at the same time - states that as the approval level has exceeded the estimated 1,000 over a three-year period, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has been advised that no further approvals should issue for now. Is the Minister saying that memo is incorrect? Did he receive that memo on 31 January? If he received that memo on 31 January why when he responded to Oral Question No. 59 on the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme from me on 20 February did he not make any reference to the fact that the scheme was oversubscribed and that he was entering into discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform or anybody else?

I know the Government has sometimes shown it lacks a grasp of simple maths.