Mr. Declan Dunne:

We find ourselves in agreement. Taking an overview, Ireland as a country is facing a significant challenge. The housing market can be broken into different sectors, and I often consider three of them, namely, people who want to get mortgages, many of whom cannot get one, people who want to access social housing and are waiting many years to access it, and people in the middle who would like to have a rental option and have certainty about rents and so on, which I would describe as intermediate housing. There are affordable and cost rental models, and we, Túath and Respond, which I also work with, are involved in trying to make that happen. It has taken a lot to get to that, with 40-year money or cheap money and so on.

Ireland as a country must think about housing generally being provided. All forms of houses are needed. As long as housing is a commodity rather than a social good, we will remain in difficulty. We have problems in all three classifications. I have two sons and I have aspirations for what I would like for them. I live in Clondalkin, which is an ordinary place, and I was able to buy a house. As I get to the age I am now, I have started to wonder whether I will need a nursing home later and how that will be funded. What happens to someone in a long-term rental with a private landlord when they no longer have an income? The State already has difficulty paying old age pensions without creating another social transfer for housing on top of everything else. There are fundamental policy issues which must be addressed.

The Deputy is correct about our orientation. We have two challenges. We would like to support housing policy development because it has evolved over the years and can evolve further, but we also have a requirement to build now and to deliver for people now. We tend to be pragmatists and solutions focused, trying to do something in the short term, but we would also like to see the bigger picture addressed.