Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want accurate information on this. We are finding it impossible to get an overview. I am not going to sit down and ring 30 local authorities and ask them individually. The Department needs to be able to give us those figures.

On new builds, I have raised the importance of language with departmental officials on several occasions when they have been before the committee. Language is important. New build and direct build are two different things. What is happening with the new builds coming in is that they are being bought on a turnkey basis. They are not designed by the local authority. They go through the process as a normal housing planning application. They are approved, built and then the local authority may buy the whole estate or part of it. They are included in the new build numbers. How many were directly built by local authorities or AHBs last year and the year before?