Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am discussing them. I am highlighting from the point of view of the stability of the economy, providing housing for those who need it and improving the public finances and creating a revenue stream for the State which it could use in providing public services, housing, etc. why we need to use the relevant funds to invest directly in fully public housing. That is what has been repeatedly sought from the Government. If we are hamstrung in this regard by EU rules on state aid, that is a disgrace. We should be kicking up absolute murder and refusing to comply with them. To be honest, I sometimes think what I am referring to is used as an excuse. There appears to be an almost ideological predilection to involve the private sector in these projects, even when it is self-evident that this approach has failed.

I love the phrase "market failure". There has never been a more spectacular example of market failure that in this matter. That is precisely why we need a strategic investment on the part of the State to fill the gap left by the absolutely disastrous market failure we have witnessed. However, the Minister of State has indicated we can only do this on condition that we get the market on board. That is just laughable. We must do something rather than submit to this nonsense. Where there is a will, there is a way. I honestly believe a way could be found to circumvent EU state aid rules, particularly if there was a commitment on the part of the Government to do so. It would be money in the bank from the point of view of the State. I have not even mentioned the employment that would be created for building workers and the savings to which this would give rise within the social welfare system and so on. It would be a win-win if we were to decide to do as I suggest. That is what amendment No. 11 is about and some of us on this side of the House have been screaming for the Government to do it. Let us accept the amendment, establish what is suggested as a strategic priority for the State, its citizens and the economy and begin the process of investing the money directly without having to depend on cowboy private developers.

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