Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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That is what I am asking. I have said it to the Minister, and I am saying it to Mr. Moloney. I have said it to the Secretary General of the Department, and I have said it to the previous Ministers. Local authorities built 1,666 homes last year. Four local authorities, including Kildare County Council, built none. If you are starting from scratch the whole time, there is a dead hand on it. People will refer to the 1970s. We were able to produce almost 8,000. There are different types of homes now, like A-rated homes, etc. However, A-rated homes have been built around the corner from me by the local authority. You could use that plan anywhere. I am sure whatever architect designed them would be happy enough to get a few bob - for the copyright, royalties, or whatever you like to call it - each time they are used, rather than starting from scratch again. I do not see why we are spending between 10% and 15% of that huge housing budget. It is going down the tubes through starting from scratch each time.

Will Mr. Moloney also ask Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, why it is insisting on consultants to design footpaths going to a housing estate? It is nuts. Will he come back to the committee with a note on it? I could go on about a range of other projects. The issue of flood relief has been mentioned. The only thing I want to say about the scheme in Mountmellick, County Laois, is that the concern is with the timeline and the risk of flooding. It comes down off the Slieve Bloom Mountains three or four hours after heavy rain starts. There was a preliminary budget of €3.2 million set out. That followed the bad flooding in late 2017. The concern now is, six years later, that it will cost more than that. I know the Department has to be careful about putting final figures on it because it goes out to contract and so on. Will Mr. Moloney ensure there is no hold-up in the timeline from his Department? Can I also have a guarantee that the additional funding for the Mountmellick scheme will be available when it comes? Will he come back with a note on both of those issues regarding Mountmellick? I accept that they have to go through the public consultation and there is a lot of work. I accept that consultants are needed to do studies and everything else to get it right. I am concerned with the timelines and that there is no hold-up with it, and that additional funding will be available when they are ready to go to construction.