Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I want to pick up on the issue of viability again, which I raised previously. I heard Mr. O'Flynn refer to subsidies for apartment blocks and so on. That is needed because of where we are now. In the long term, though, if we cannot make development viable, then we are doomed to failure. That is the bottom line and the nub of the issue. If it is not viable to build, we are in trouble. We can subsidise in the short to medium term, but that cannot continue forever.

We are caught for time. How do we address the issue of viability? It does not relate solely to apartment blocks. Many builders will say it is not viable to build housing developments unless they have the land at a particular price, infrastructure costs are low and so on. I will go back to Mr. O'Flynn because he spoke about viability and said we did not have time. I will allow him some time to speak. What are the key measures we can take on viability? That is the nub of the issue with the housing crisis. If it is not viable to build, we are in trouble.