Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy never mentioned the scale of Irish investment in property in so many countries during the so-called boom years. I do not hear him talking about this. In many cases, that investment pulled down good business in this country. Banks had to cut deals when property dropped in value in other countries, pulling down business that were thriving here as a consequence. That is an issue. Therefore, it is not true to say an invitation was issued to American investors to come here to build houses. The construction sector is only contributing from 6% to 7% to GDP, a drop from the figure of 25% that it used to contribute. We need it to be at approximately 10% to 12% and to be building 30,000 to 35,000 houses annually. The Deputy knows well that if we were in a position to magically transform, as some here seem to think we can, to a position where we had 30,000 three-bedroomed houses available in this city, they would go very quickly.

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