Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I assure the Deputy that I am seriously considering this matter.

In this regard, I have asked local authorities to put in place five year action plans covering the full range of their housing programmes. These plans, to be agreed with my Department, will ensure that a fully strategic approach is taken by local authorities and will ensure that they avail of the certainty provided by multi-annual expenditure programmes.

Government interventions have boosted the supply of affordable housing under targeted schemes for low and middle-income purchasers. More than 8,000 households have benefited under the shared ownership and affordable housing schemes in the past five years. I have visited a number of developments in different local authorities. I was in the midlands a few weeks ago and noted that affordable houses were being produced at €122,000 and €125,000, which represents good value. I was in Finglas in my constituency a few weeks ago. Deputy Broughan will be aware that the north west committee of the city council was often the more pro-active in this regard, and I know that some of these houses are being built in the Deputy's area. There were a number of houses on local authority sites selling at between €150,000 and €200,000, which represents good value when people can get such low mortgage rates.

See this speech in context