Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I can see from the correspondence that Kildare had a new build target of 370 units and 372 units were delivered. The tabular statement does not tell the whole story. It uses the language of confusion. We often hear the Minister or Taoiseach stated the Government has delivered when, in fact, many of these new builds are turnkey. With a lot of these turnkey units, a planning application is made, the houses are built, people expect them to be put on the market and a local authority or an approved housing body then buys them in bulk. Another type is long-lease units, which represent mind-boggling poor value for money.

Social housing is seen as a product. They are leased for 25 years. There is a review of the rent after four years and there is only one way that will go. After 25 years they have to be refurbished and handed back to the original owner. There is no asset at the end of it. It is incredibly bad value.