Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

In reply to Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, we are not looking at others. There is a reason why most of Europe does not have our housing problems. Most of Europe does not have such a dysfunctional manner of supplying housing and we should look at those countries more closely to see what they are at.

Land prices will drop dramatically if this legislation is passed. I guarantee they will immediately drop by more than half. That would be a start. Nothing is fixed overnight but it would be the start of things being done better.

No one is building apartments in this town at the moment because the land is too dear to buy. We were talking about this earlier. A developer could not pay more than €35,000 or €30,000 per unit building apartments today and still get his money back or make money. The construction of apartments is more expensive than housing for several reasons, mostly to do with civil engineering. What is happening in the city at the moment is that student accommodation is three times the price for the land, if not more, compared with the price for a developer who wants to build apartments. That is why no apartments are being built.

I want to know why the city council does not take the view that the land is there but that it wants apartments to be built instead of student housing, hostels or hotels. That would determine the price of it. On the other hand, if the city council continues with the view that it will sell land to the highest bidder, then we are simply going to get more student accommodation, which is too expensive for the majority of people in Ireland to avail of. Of course there is the issue of affordability, as Professor Drudy has highlighted. It is common sense. If the State is going to help with the provision of affordable housing, then of course it will bring the price down for someone who is trying to build the same housing close by.