Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for being here today. Well done on the work in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. My first contributions will be on housing and maybe we can get to the other two aspects afterwards if time permits. The waiving of the development levies and the refunding of the water connection charges was designed to reduce the cost of homes being built and to increase supply. The other drivers of costs is construction inflation over the last years. There is a direct cost benefit from a reduction but also an increase in supply. Is the Minister satisfied that this worked as a mechanism for reducing the cost and increasing the supply?