Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The key point is that the Daft.iereport identifies the cost of building apartments as a major problem on the supply side. It is stated the cost is way beyond our incomes and the costs in other societies. The cost of building is one aspect that the Government has not dealt with.

It is a significant factor in the restricted supply of apartment developments and so on across the country.

Another issue is that of bringing vacant properties back into use. According to the CSO's preliminary census, 200,000 houses in the private and public sectors across the country are vacant. It is an incredible figure. There is no strategy to incentivise their return to the market. These are practical issues on which to focus but in respect of which nothing has been done.

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