Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am well aware of this issue. I am sure every Deputy deals with queries from outside their own constituencies on all issues. I accept there is particular difficulty in the greater Dublin area but also in the Kildare area, where there has been a surge of employment, for example, in the construction industry, following the announcement of the jobs at Kerry Group and given the lift in employment in the IT sector, including at Intel, and in other areas. While that growth in employment is welcome, there has been a knock-on effect, especially in the Kildare and outer Dublin areas, whereby the numbers seeking employment in the private sector have caused the rent inflation that has happened.

While there are no plans at present to extend the protocol to the Kildare area, the front-line staff have been told to take into consideration the local market forces and to do everything within their remit to keep tenancies sustained. However, as I said, we also have to look at the other elements. It is very fine balance that we must achieve. The real answer to this is to get Kildare County Council building homes and the €2.3 billion that has been put into the budget for 2015 will certainly assist that. There is a strong case for some of those properties to be built in Kildare.

See this speech in context