Mr. Seamus Coffey:

We would like to see the capacity of the construction sector increase, but there is such low unemployment it is a Catch-22 problem. Previously, when we were building significantly more housing - up to 90,000 units in 2006 - we brought in many of those workers from abroad, particularly eastern European countries that had recently joined the EU. They had the skilled labour force that we were able to benefit from. They were able to come because there was a surplus of accommodation at the time so there was somewhere for them to live. Whereas now, when the Deputy talks about bringing in workers to build additional housing, there is no housing in the first place for these workers to live.

Second, their own economies are performing much better than they were 15 or 20 years ago, so they are much more likely to stay. It is a bit of a problem. Can we build 60,000 units? There is possibly scope for a continued increase in the output of the sector, but it is difficult to see it happening pretty quickly unless there is to be a diversion of existing resources away from other areas to the construction of residential housing. We might get there over time but we need the increased housing output now.

Again, it is not necessarily a problem of money. The money is certainly there. It is a capacity issue. There are also some non-fiscal issues not related to spending, such as planning, etc., that might impact on the private sector. It is undoubted that we need the housing; we just seem to have difficulty in actually providing it.