Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Duffy for allowing me to step into his slot. I thank the witnesses for their presentations. I hope the Limerick delegation will forgive me if I focus in a more parochial way on the Waterford representatives. Looking around the table, I imagine there will be plenty of time for Limerick questions too.

I acknowledge the amount of work that has been done by Mr. Walsh and Mr. Grimes on affordable housing schemes which are coming on stream. Some 179 homes have been repaired and leased. I acknowledge that Waterford is leading the way on that. It may be slightly tangential, but I think it is worth mentioning the work of the integrated homelessness service on Parnell Street. Mr. Grimes mentioned that in Waterford, we strive to provide own-door emergency accommodation for families. That is testament to some of the work.

I would like to raise a number of issues. I will start with the demand for one-bedroom properties. In the graphs that the witnesses presented, that is the area in which demand is seriously outstripping supply. Will the witnesses talk to me about the difficulties we face? If we are trying to provide one-bedroom accommodation to people, we should ideally be looking at apartment blocks. Is it possible to make the development of apartment accommodation stand up financially in Waterford? Is that one of our sticking points or obstacles?