Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I am glad of the opportunity to speak on this very important issue, on which the Government has been silent for the past eight years. This is the first time in its term of office and that of its predecessor that any attempt has been made to come into the open and talk about housing.

When I hear the mantra from the Government side of the House that 75,000 houses have been built, I agree with it, but one should note that some of these houses are penthouses. Some are worth €2 million or €3 million and some of those who live in them frequent the tent at Ballybrit races regularly. The more houses that are built, the more space that must be made in the tent to accommodate the investors and landlords who have bought them. Blocks of houses throughout the country have been bought by investors who in turn are renting them to people who should be, but are not, housed by their local authorities. Almost €400 million is being paid in rent subsidies every year to people who frequent the tent in Ballybrit because the local authorities have not been able to build houses.

The Government's performance in respect of local authority housing is nothing short of a disgrace. The Minister of State knows I have become frustrated talking to him about this matter in recent years. The Government's record is appalling and all that has happened in recent times is that it has made some semblance of an attempt to address the issue in the hope of justifying its existence in recent years to the public before an upcoming general election.

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