Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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On housing, from a factual position, the target numbers for affordable housing and cost rental were not met. Social new-builds were under-provided for as well. The Department used some of those resources to make a large number of acquisitions. On whether the targets are met for next year, in the Minister's view, are the capital headings sufficient to meet the targets that are laid out in terms of Housing for All and maintain the level of acquisitions that happened last year?

I ask because the money was moved from one to the other. When we look at the stability programme update, we are looking into the future. The Minister's party has outlined the ambition to have 250,000 new homes built over a period of five years and that is the kind of number is everybody has been saying is required to meet the need. However, unless they are mostly private homes with no real increase in social, affordable and cost-rental housing, the Government is not going to meet the target under these capital ceilings because these ceilings do not increase to allow an increase in the level of social, affordable and cost-rental housing construction. Does the Minister have any understanding of the commitment his party leader gave to have 250,000 homes built, with respect to how many of them will actually be public, meaning social, affordable and cost-rental housing? Is it just the case that the Government is hoping the private sector continues to pick up that remainder?