Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I listened with some care to the Taoiseach's replies to Deputy Micheál Martin during Leaders' Questions. I had thought we had an all-party approach to dealing with this issue, because it is the compelling social issue right now.

It is a fact that the last Government allocated €3 billion, an unprecedented sum. However, that was almost three years ago and, for some reason, the social housing that we expected is not being delivered. I know some of the reasons. We had to reconstitute local authority housing departments and so on. Some 430 individuals had to be employed because sufficient staff were not available in local authorities. Is it time now to look at a different delivery system? Patently, money is available and political will seems to be present across the House, but the delivery is not happening.

Let us consider the shocking delay in delivering modular housing. Under the plan 200 homes were meant to have been built by the end of last year with a further 800 by the end of this year. Thus far, 22 have been built and they were all under projects started by the then Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly. It seems to me that some impediment exists in translating the clear policy directions from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government to concrete solutions.

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