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

Unfortunately, the reality is that we cannot do everything together. Not even the Deputy could deliver all the social houses within the timeframe that he seems to think is possible. The reality is that we have huge pressure on the system and there is no one silver bullet. What we need to do is to put sustainable, long-term tenancies in place where we can. We need to put long-term leasing arrangements in place where it is appropriate to do so. We need to have a very aggressive build programme, which we now have. I would ask for the support of local authorities in doing that and, for the most part, that has been forthcoming so far. It will be a combination of all of those elements that will deliver an extra 47,000 social housing units in terms of extra units into the system as well as an increasing number of people coming onto the HAP scheme, some of whom will move from rent supplement, which we are seeking to phase out, to have a much more sustainable, long-term supportive rental model, which will come under the HAP scheme. We are working with the realities we face to try to get good sustainable solutions for as many families as possible.

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