Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs has set out those issues, although Deputy Rabbitte might not like some of them. Substantial measures have already been taken to improve possible disincentives to allow people who want to work and are in receipt of rent supplements to do so. The Minister has improved income disregards. One cannot simply ignore them and have a situation where a person on any income can get a rent subsidy. The Minister has correctly improved the disregards. He would like to go higher than €200 over a period. He has tapered the withdrawal of benefits as earnings increase, which is the correct way to deal with this issue. We have given employment supports and provided special retention arrangements for those taking up employment.

In my world, one needs a site before one can build a house. I am not sure how one could do so otherwise. The State has done something which has not been done previously and certainly not since the 1930s. We have made available sites in the ownership of the State, including health board and departmental property, including Department of Defence property, so that we can provide affordable housing. Many of those houses are coming on stream, as are the Part V arrangements.

Comparing the situation with that in the 1970s shows how things have moved. At that time, proportionately, we were building more social housing.

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