Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Mr. O'Neill said he offered advice to each of the local authorities in the context of site assessment or tenure mix options. Are there any sites where the agency has failed to come to an arrangement that is financially viable in any local authorities? What is his general opinion of the whole procurement process? Is it delivering value for money or is it delaying the delivery of housing? I believe the procurement process is one of the stumbling blocks to the delivery of housing. The four projects we are looking at are all on State land but a significant proportion will be given to the private sector to deliver housing. Is this the correct use of State land? Is it the correct policy? As a State, should we not be able to deliver our housing on our own land? We all accept that cost rental is cheaper than market rent but it is still not affordable, at €1,200 for a two-bedroomed house. Can Mr. Baneham say what measures do we need to take to get it to affordable rent? What are the stumbling blocks in relation to affordability? We can all talk about red tape, regulations, development levies, utilities etc. Is land cost not the single biggest issue challenging us today? What do we need to do about that? Until we face up to the cost of land, we will never get to affordability, either in the context of renting or purchasing.

What do we need to do in relation to land?