Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Undoubtedly, as the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, said, we are in the middle of a perfect storm regarding housing. It is distressing and heart-breaking when one meets constituents, neighbours, friends and past pupils caught up in dire straits with housing problems. Thankfully, however, we have a housing strategy.

It amused me to hear Deputy Barry Cowen and his colleagues opposite shedding crocodile tears about housing when his party, Fianna Fáil, presided over a debacle of social housing policy when it was in power for over a decade. It has no credibility whatsoever in this.

What we must see is the implementation of the housing strategy put forward by the Government. When one takes the capital plan announced yesterday and the €2.2 billion already put forward, up to €3.1 billion will be provided for housing policy. However, where has the money for social housing gone over the past decade? Will the Minister provide a breakdown?

We need to see the resources in place and shovel-ready projects approved and fast-tracked. It requires local government and those with vested interests to come together to ensure we put in place a social housing strategy. We have seen an increase in funding for the homeless budget. I commend those who work in the area of homelessness as their work sometimes gets brushed aside by those who do not understand what they do, particularly in Cork city.

I call on Cork City and Cork County Councils to use the millions of euro given to them to fund the provision of social housing. From information I have obtained from parliamentary questions and other sources, allocated moneys for social housing have not been spent in Cork city which Deputy Jonathan O’Brien and I represent.

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