Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Sometimes there is a misunderstanding regarding the difference between rapid-build technologies and engineering solutions and modular housing units as if we are somehow building the trailers parks of the future. That is not what we are doing. Anybody who has visited the Ballymun project has seen houses that look like many other houses that have been built through normal construction methods. A strategic decision was taken at some point to construct rapid-build units instead of using modular housing units which would perhaps be more temporary.

Timber-frame house building was frowned upon and questioned 15 years ago, but has subsequently become the norm for many people. My understanding is that the houses in Ballymun have a life expectancy of 60 years, so this should not simply be temporary accommodation. We are talking about building proper homes for people that manage energy appropriately and are high-quality builds that can be built far more quickly than buildings delivered through conventional methods.

I am emphasising the point that I would like to see chief executives using rapid-build technologies if this can solve problems within their communities, along with other strategies around acquisition and so on, because of the figures we saw yesterday, which are yet another reminder of the urgency with which we need to deal with this issue by getting more supply into the marketplace from a social housing perspective.

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