Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have much regard for the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and we were told some time ago that she would engage with the Department of Social Protection to deal with the crisis in rent allowance but this problem has not been addressed. My main concern relating to the delivery of social housing is that we cannot wait for the implementation of another plan - we need a direct construction programme. The Minister and his colleagues in Government have spoken of a solution that is off-balance sheet. The Minister of State with responsibility for housing has spoken of the voluntary sector providing housing. The Minister recently suggested the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, should provide housing. The Government is standing back from a burning crisis that is affecting the day-to-day lives of people, suggesting another entity, be it the voluntary sector or NAMA, should solve the problem. I suggest the Minister and the Government must solve the problem by directly building local authority housing. I suggest the National Pensions Reserve Fund be used as €1 billion would construct around 6,000 local authority houses, which would generate huge employment across the country. Funding from the National Pensions Reserve Fund could leverage other funding into the housing market. Will the Government take immediate action in these areas?

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