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

I do not want to pretend that we have been building as many social housing houses as we should have been for the last couple of years. We would like to have done more. We would have done more if we had more money available, but if one looks at the capital expenditure commitments between now and 2020-2021, there is €3 billion for social housing. It is a very serious commitment. My job is to look at the processes that are currently delaying the building of houses with the appropriate urgency to respond to what I have described as an emergency. In my first week in the job I made it very clear that I regard the current challenges in housing as a national emergency, particularly in Dublin and Cork, and they are also seriously affecting other cities. I can assure the Deputy that I am aware of the challenges that I have a responsibility to try to overcome. The Deputy will see exactly what we are proposing in a couple of months' time when we have a national plan for housing.

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