John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This will my last opportunity to ask the Taoiseach a question. I genuinely wish him well. Unlike others, I have not had the opportunity of working with him - some might say despite the Taoiseach's best efforts. I refer to chapter two of A Programme for a Partnership Government which relates to housing supply and the homelessness issue. This is underpinned by the Rebuilding Ireland programme. When that programme was published, I said that if it was implemented in full, it had the potential to have a significant positive impact. From time to time, we ask questions - I want to be specific about this - and get replies. The problem with the replies is that many of them do not hit the nail on the head. In answer to questions about the ongoing problem - the rate of homelessness is as it was when the report was published - the Taoiseach has often said that it is a supply side issue. The Government has a responsibility to deliver on supply side by adding new properties. For example, the programme committed to delivering 200 rapid-build units in quarter four of 2016 and 800 such units in 2017. A total of 22 have been delivered to date and 151 are scheduled. This is 173 units out of a potential number of 1,000. In terms of the delivery of new units, this is falling behind. As one of his final acts, the Taoiseach needs not just to highlight it but, along with the Minister, to put down very specific timelines for the new builds so that we can put pressure politically and administratively because we are not moving at the rate which would have been anticipated ten or 11 months ago when that programme was published.

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