Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

The affordable housing and sites scheme is fantastic but we have that problem in the parish of Carlanstown. People were approved for affordable sites but then encountered the problem mentioned by Deputy Naughten. It is everybody's ambition to own their own house. I have put forward an idea in County Meath and there have been responses from builders as well as from the people who want to own a house. Will the Minister re-examine the current housing situation? In the counties of Meath, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth there are thousands of houses that cannot be sold. In one estate, there are 40 such houses and nobody can bid on them. Ten people per day join the affordable housing scheme in Meath. Could the Department's officials examine the possibility of matching those people with the houses the builders cannot sell? These people are only short of the affordable €30,000 site with the grant on it. This idea would help the building industry. There are 7,500 empty houses in Meath and 8,000 in Cavan.

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