Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I went through the figures. The Deputy asked what we are going to do and whether there is an issue with funding. It is not an issue of funding any more. We have made it clear to all local authorities that we are in a position to work with them on projects across all the initiatives. We will work to tailor the needs of each county. The Minister and I are trying to visit every local authority as quickly possible in order to meet their officials and elected representatives and make it clear that the funding is available under the different schemes and can be adapted to suit their needs. A few of the new schemes announced would suit Galway County Council very well in respect of the buy-and-repair initiative. It is working on proposals for that. The housing budget is €1.3 billion extra. It has increased by 50%. The year after next there will be a major increase. The funding is there and the capacity of people in the Department and every local authority can be employed in order to deliver this and spend the money. There will not be an excuse.

The Deputy is correct that the figures for the waiting list are not acceptable. We understand that and we are all determined to drive those figures down by providing solutions. We will do that across many initiatives.

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