Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Last night's horrific programme has once again highlighted the Taoiseach's incredible failure to deal with the housing problem. For him to blame the last Government, after he has been in office for five years, beggars belief. I am shocked that the Taoiseach is so out of touch with what is happening. I can honestly say that of all the things that have happened in the past five years, his failure to deal with the housing crisis has been incredible. It has been an unmitigated disaster all the way through. It has actually got worse instead of better. I have asked the Taoiseach several times why he will not put 10,000 of the 20,000 units that NAMA wants to build into local authority social housing to be run by the local authorities.

The Taoiseach says that everything is about supply. We could have an extra 100,000 houses in Ireland today but if they were not social and affordable houses, we would still have homelessness and we would still have people looking for houses. Of the 20,000 houses that NAMA is going to built, 18,000 are for the private sector, while 2,000 are for the social housing sector. That is a nine to one ratio. The Taoiseach's priority is nine private houses and one social house. I would argue that the biggest problem of all with housing in Ireland today is the lack of safe local authority social housing. However, the Taoiseach is going to let NAMA build nine private houses to one social house. They will be sold for €300,000. Of the people in Ireland today who need to buy or rent a house, how many does the Taoiseach think will be able to afford to pay €300,000 which NAMA thinks will be the selling price?

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