Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question. To be fair, she should reserve judgment until she sees the housing strategy, Housing for All. There is an increase in the SES in the underlying core capital from 2021 to 2022 of €1.1 billion. In addition, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, is looking at all other possible sources of funding and investment. This includes, for example, non-Exchequer investment and the role that the Land Development Agency, LDA, can play. As the Deputy knows, the LDA has the capacity to borrow and leverage the investment it will get from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. The Deputy should reserve overall judgment until she sees the Housing for All plan which will be ambitious. The real issue and focus has to be on delivery. Covid-19 has had a dramatic impact on output, both last year and this year. We get the scale of the housing crisis, and the fact that so many people are unable to even aspire to home ownership. The Government is committed to addressing that. The full details will be available once Housing for All is published.