Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am very conscious of the issues raised by Deputy Humphreys. There are many large road projects under way in the transport sector. We also have large projects in the education sector because we need schools to meet the demographic change. We also need to invest in the Grangegorman project which I believe will be the flagship education project of this Administration. Housing is a new issue. It was for that reason I allocated, from the modest sum available in the budget for additional capital over and above the public capital programme, €30 million for housing. It is an issue I would like to revisit. I am aware the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, is concerned about rising rents and market forces pushing people out of the housing market. We cannot have a situation whereby we are chasing rising rents with more money from the Exchequer. I do not think that is the way to go. We need to return to some form of traditional house building. We are engaged in how that particular issue can be addressed.

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