Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have here a list of 504 housing construction projects all over the country. This makes real sense because it puts figures and details on locations. The list is available for everyone to see on the Department's website. Instead of talking about €98 million being available for rebuilding in Ireland in 2017, one can go through the individual units that are being constructed in groups of 20 to 50. That makes real sense for people who are going to live in these houses and know that the houses will be allocated to them. Therefore I do not accept what the Deputy has said.

Some 3,000 households came out of homelessness in 2016, which is a substantial increase on what was there before. The moneys that have been allocated include Dublin City Council's winter initiative which delivered 200 extra beds for rough sleepers on the streets due to high rents, and others in hotels and hostels. All of these initiatives are part of the action plan.

I do not want to read out the figures for the millions being allocated, but previous measures taken by government to tackle the costs associated with the provision of housing included reduced development contributions, a development contribution rebate scheme, changes to the Part 5 regime and new apartment guidelines. They were all brought in to reduce costs because we met with the Construction Industry Federation and so many others.

The Deputy knows that this city is creeping northwards, north-westwards and westwards. In another 15 years, if it continues like that, it will be out near Mullingar with single houses. Dublin City Council has its views on this. Every city in the world has buildings which exceed the maximum height allowed in Dublin. It is not for me to set a fix on this. If developers and others involved in construction say they cannot make a profit given the guidelines and height restrictions, then we should give serious consideration to building somewhat higher in order to reduce the cost of development. Profit is not a dirty word in this context because it is about providing housing accommodation for people. One cannot sell a single apartment until the block is ready for sale, however.

The Deputy asked about the reduction of costs but that was dealt with in reduced development contributions, the rebate scheme, changes to part 5 and new apartment guidelines. It is all about supply and more money than ever before has been allocated in a variety of ways to make an impact on this. It is working but obviously we are catching up on a big curve here.

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