Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

Many tax schemes that encourage people to buy are under review. We do not have raw data on the number of holiday homes. The number of local authority homes built each year is approximately 5,000. The voluntary sector has built many homes, numbering approximately 1,600 units in 2004 and 1,800 this year. In or around 60,000 people are in receipt of rent allowance, implying that many new houses being built are being occupied by social clients. The position is not as stark as the Deputy has indicated.

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