Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has said the Government will prioritise the construction of State housing, but most of the money which he has stated has been earmarked for social housing will still involve social housing being provided by the private sector. The Government is not getting local authorities to build large numbers of social housing units, even though this is absolutely essential.

In response to a question from Deputy Sean Fleming, the Minister said France might break the rules in order to deal with its defence and security challenges. There is a housing emergency in Ireland. The idea that we cannot borrow money off the books to invest in social housing because it is outside EU rules needs to be challenged. It is outrageous that we are paying PPPs at a rate in the region of 15%, when the Government can access money at less than 2% when it sells Government bonds. That could be done in order to invest in an extensive social housing programme.

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