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

Yesterday, the Taoiseach said the Cabinet had approved the ordering of 150 modular homes on foot of a presentation made by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Did he give any background details as to where they might be located, the costs associated with them or the fact that they may or may not have planning permission? NAMA sold 11,000 units in Dublin this year with planning permission. Is emergency legislation needed in order for construction to proceed at an earlier date than the normal procurement or planning process would take, namely, 18 months? This is just another example of the cobbled-together efforts the Government is making in order to make it appear as if it has some semblance over the situation, which it clear does not. Perhaps the Taoiseach will indicate whether new legislation is required or whether does the planning legislation need to be amended for these units to be put in place a lot sooner than is normally the case? He announced 7,500 units for this year this year, of which only 493 are available.

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