Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would obviously love to be in a position to spend more, but we have defended investment in infrastructure and, more importantly, focused on it as best we can in the capital plan. Social housing was a feature of the budget I introduced 13 months ago. At that stage we allocated in excess of €2.2 billion for housing and re-established the spend on social housing for the first time in almost a decade. The previous Government did not believe in building social housing, preferring instead to buy it from developers, but we have reoriented public policy to ensure we will build social housing. The Deputy is uniquely equipped in the House to know that it takes a lead-in time to do this. We have to acquire land, make sure it is serviced and obtain planning permission, ensure tenders and builders on site, all of which takes from 18 months to two years. I agree totally with the Deputy that social housing provision is one of the most demanding social issues and it is a priority for capital investment.

See this speech in context