Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

To return to the Taoiseach's statement of 10 April last, he said that he was not worried about the downturn in the construction sector. Then he said a correction was taking place. That correction has had a devastating impact on the entire country and the loss of confidence is now palpable on the streets.

Does the Taoiseach chair the cross-departmental committee on infrastructure, as his predecessor did, and does he sit in on the meetings of the cross-departmental committee on housing? Given that the Taoiseach was in the Department of Finance, he would have known that an economy based on the building of 80,000 to 90,000 housing units was not sustainable. We now have a situation where over 100,000 houses are empty, while the need, particularly among young people, to acquire a home or have access to acquiring same is of critical importance. In that context, has the committee on housing examined the options to expedite a transfer of suitable housing to enable people within a certain range to acquire a home? It must examine the options available because this is a major issue in all parts of the country.

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