Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the representatives and thank them for the work they do. I will circle in on Housing for All and I will look at all the different agencies that have been mentioned. If we focus on the LDA, the LDA does nothing for me in the area I represent because all its funding is based in the cities. The funding is not based in the county because of infrastructural issues we have in Limerick. When I look at funding and Housing for All, it does not cover housing for all in the county area I live in. The LDA will support something within 15 minutes of the city but, geographically, Limerick city is in a corner and the county unfolds from it. You could be looking at 40-odd miles by the time you get to Ballylanders and another 40-odd miles by the time you get to Abbeyfeale, for which the funding is very weak due to a lack of infrastructure.

The repair and leasing scheme could help but, again, it is based on existing infrastructure. Even though it is at its maximum capacity, it will at least help. From the perspective of new builds and funding, how much of the agencies' funding has gone to areas outside the cities for housing? In Limerick it cannot go to such areas because of the lack of infrastructure. How do I have Housing for All in Limerick? I welcome the money that is being spent in the city. It is welcome and we have to house people, but I also want to welcome how to make my towns and villages sustainable and put people into houses there.

I come from the construction sector and have been in construction all my life. When the representatives talked about the loans they will be giving out, I cannot understand how they can justify those loans in the context of inflation. The price of housing has gone up by approximately €70-odd per square foot in an 18-month period. I know this basis because I deal with construction on a daily basis. I find it hard in construction when something could be priced today but tomorrow it is different, including labour content and material content. Everything is moving at a fast pace. For the agencies own security and funding, if they are lending €150 million to a project and that sum turns into €250 million, how will they counteract that to make sure these projects last? We saw this week that Roadbridge went into receivership. This is a perfect example when we consider how to future-proof.

The biggest question I have relates to the representatives who mentioned they have so many teams. How many of their teams can help me rebuild County Limerick in respect of the lack of infrastructure we have traditionally had from generations of Government and the failure of local authorities to invest in and improve infrastructure, sewerage and water, so I can rebuild towns and villages? If I rebuild towns and villages to a larger scale, I can then make a case for proper transport infrastructure from hubs in towns, which could bring in the villages around them. It also improves on emissions in the future and gives me a case study where I can fight for transport infrastructure from hubs such as Kilmallock, Dromcolliher, Abbeyfeale and Newcastle West. I can put in hub towns that can be invested in. They can have a 15-minute window outside them that will bring in villages and provide infrastructure for those people, which also brings business and people to my towns and villages and future-proofs Housing for All for County Limerick. How can the agencies help me in County Limerick?