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

This comes back to some confusion about what is being built. There were exhibitions demonstrating what modular units could do and what they might look like. They were very attractive units but they were built elsewhere before being transported and laid on a concrete slab. The buildings in Ballymun are very different. They are rapid build houses that look, feel and behave as would a normal modern house. There was a change in approach so we would have long-term solutions for people's housing needs.

The role of NAMA is really significant in facing our housing challenges. It is committing to building more than 20,000 housing units and will be central to projects like the new special development zone, SDZ, at the Irish Glass Bottle site and other sites. I have met representatives of NAMA and have made it very clear that I want the agency to work with local authorities to make properties available for social housing. It is really important not to do what was suggested by some people over the weekend, which is just to build large estates of social housing all over Dublin and in parts of Cork. We need proper diversity and mix in communities, which means there should be private, public and affordable units of different sizes and values. That would bring the kind of community mix needed for new house building.

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