Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I understand that and the work of the ESRI is crucially important. The Minister talks about listening to the ESRI but is it not the reality that the Government has listened to the developers here? This is a developer-led scheme. I am not saying that to make the accusation. I know it because developers came to Sinn Féin and tried to convince us of the merits of this proposal. We told them to sling their hook. They went to Government Buildings or to Fianna Fáil and got a friendly ear in the form of Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who ended up becoming Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and is now implementing their policies.

Whether the Minister is listening to the ESRI telling him the scheme will push up house prices, his own former Secretary General who said developers are lobbying for this because it will push up house prices, the entire Central Bank which is saying it has concerns or the Institute of Property Auctioneers and Valuers, which is just interested in selling property, all are saying the same thing. This is a scheme that will push up prices. The reality is, when it comes down to it, it is the ear of developers that have got the friendliest tones when it comes to a Fianna Fáil Minister. Is that not the case? How can the Minister justify the chorus of opposition from State-funded bodies against this scheme, when it seems the only ones supportive of it are the Government and the developers?