Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

Following up what was said on productivity levels, I was on a site on Friday. I know we are talking about apartments here, but this is in relation to semi-detached houses. The average timeframe for building a house is 28 weeks. I was on a site on Friday where they can turn around, build and complete a house in 12 weeks. They are working with Enterprise Ireland on this project. More than 170 houses have been built in a very short time. This is from the private sector and the private sector is driving it. There is another project involving apartments where the target is 217 apartments. It is a 24-storey block. The target is to have the whole project completed within two years. Again, it is private enterprise doing that. A lot of work is being done by private enterprise to try to get housing completed in a fast and efficient manner while also being cost effective. Those are two things that are happening at the moment. It is important that we give recognition to the work being done in the private sector in this area.