Mr. Dick Brady:

Deputy Wallace referred to scale, in terms of the tenure mix and so forth. If one was building 700 houses, one might have an issue in regard to the mix of tenure, but if one were building or acquiring smaller numbers that might not be the case. We need to carry out some research.

It is assumed - an assumption I do not share - that all social tenants have certain characteristics which means they tend towards antisocial activity and the bad parts of ghettoisation. I have been involved in housing for a long time. From my experience, the vast majority of families and individuals who come to us for services are decent people who are trying to get from A to Z in the same manner as every other family.

In terms of ensuring we have the best quality estates possible, we need to consider other elements besides building houses. We need to consider whether the services families need are in place when they are housed. In other words, there needs to be a health system, schools and shops in place. Some of our greatest failures been a result of building large numbers of houses on the sides of hills in the suburbs of Dublin without putting in place the necessary social and other infrastructure to support family life. The question of ghettoisation is bigger than numbers and needs to be examined in that way.

I refer to O'Devaney Gardens. I mentioned that we looked at three possible sites in terms of bringing forward innovative ideas.

These sites will have both social and purchased units and hopefully we will get to the stage where we can carry out the necessary work in respect of affordable renting because I believe a sector of the population is suffering as a result of the fact that the people in question do not have choices in that area. We will bring forward the proposals in this regard to our council within the next month or so. They are being worked on at present. The Deputy asked specific questions on the docklands but I do not have the numbers to hand.