Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are almost at the conclusion of the meeting. Although Senator Boyhan is not at the meeting it is important to emphasise sustainable development for rural areas. The representatives from Mayo County Council touched on that concept. In 2008, County Longford was left with 2,000 units across multiple ghost estates. Nobody is more frustrated than I am with the with pace of the roll-out of affordable housing. For largely rural counties it is important to get a scheme that not only works but is also viable for the local authorities, particularly if they partner with a developer. Some progress has been made on the relaxation of rules where typically now a couple with an income of €60,000 will be able to qualify for an affordable house in most of those largely rural counties. There have been some incremental steps. No local authority wants to go back to the spectre of ghost estates. We all appreciate the absolute desire and demand to build houses as quickly as possible. In the case of rural areas, it must be sustainable development.

The meeting has been very constructive. I thank all the speakers, those who are present from Longford County Council and those appearing remotely from Mayo County Council. It is good to have the people from Longford here. I know Mayo people only like to come up if they are going to Croke Park but I encourage them to come and join us for the next engagement. We are not as bad as they say and we do not bite. We will try to schedule the next meeting with them for September and they might be able to join us then in person. We can do it on a Friday afternoon and they can then go to the match on Sunday.

We greatly appreciate the work the housing staff in both local authorities are doing. Multiple new schemes and new initiatives have been rolled out under the Housing for All plan. In the main these plans have been enthusiastically embraced. We have seen significant indication from both local authorities of their successes. We have seen some of the shortcomings and that is something we need to take back to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The witnesses should bring back the message that their work and the work of all staff - outdoor staff, clerical staff and engineering staff - is greatly valued.