Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The new Minister for housing is dealing with these issues with all expedition. As the Deputy rightly stated, the model for building houses is broken. Many of the small builders in the supply stream went bust and have not returned to the business since the economy's recovery. The finance model is also gone. As such, we must find new ways. As can be seen in Dublin, most current construction involves a developer as an organiser, with subcontractors carrying out the work. Units of subcontractors are coming on stream when their input is required. There has been a major shake-up but the industry is getting there and a number of good, sound builders are back in business. Some of the larger builders are also involved, for example, Cairn Homes and Hines in Cherrywood, where there are 4,800 units. They have a different financing model, as they can raise money on the markets quite cheaply.

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