Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister saw this morning - obviously, it is not the first time it has been highlighted - housing provision is a major issue. In fact, it is a crisis. I spoke to somebody from the Simon Community about the situation in Dublin. He said that when he was speaking to housing officials in Dublin City Council he saw the whites of their eyes and the solid fear in coming to terms with how they might deal with this issue into the future. It is about empowering local authorities and also the private sector to ensure there is housing provision.

I am conscious of the correspondence between the Minister's Department and the Department of Finance-----

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