Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I have already told the Deputy, every avenue in terms of the delivery of social housing as quickly as possible is being explored. The voids programme has been successful, with almost 2,000 voids having been turned around and returned to use this year. As I said, we expect approximately 700 houses to be acquired through the local authorities, a measure for which the Deputy is calling. We must take a balanced approach to this issue. If, as proposed by the Deputy, the Government were to purchase every property currently for sale in the country, that would impact on the ability of first-time buyers to buy houses which, in turn, would impact negatively on the market. It is important that first-time buyers have an opportunity to purchase too. We need to take a balanced approach to this issue. The Government is taking every avenue in the context of increasing the number of social housing units available. If in the morning the Government bought up every house for sale, this would impact negatively on the ability of other people to purchase a house, which is their entitlement. The Government is addressing this issue in a measured and balanced way.

In regard to the modular homes, whether one agrees or disagrees with them, they are intended to remove families from emergency accommodation. I agree with the Deputy that the initial cost in this regard is high but this is because we are paying a premium for them in the context of the need for delivery of them very quickly. I would expect that the next tranche of modular units will be delivered at a cheaper cost per unit than the amount mentioned earlier by the Deputy.

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