Dáil debates

Wednesday, 31 January 2018

Other Questions

Local Authority Housing Provision

11:50 am

Photo of Tom NevilleTom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister mentioned 2006 and 2007. I cast my mind back to when I was first going into the council in the noughties. There were council estates being build in small rural towns throughout County Limerick. We want to get back to that space again, with small pocket, turnkey type estates being built. I ask the Minister to continue to liaise with the local authorities and to hold them accountable in delivering what they need to deliver on the ground, particularly in the county and rural areas.

I ask the Minister to be mindful of the other Departments as well in respect of broadband, transport and economic development. All that will be the engine driver of this. Something arising from speaking to the ordinary one-man or two-man band type builders, is that there is an increasing construction economy starting to happen. There is also now a shortage of labour and skills. The Department of Education and Skills is working on developing apprenticeships. This needs to be pushed big time. I ask that the Minister's Department would work in conjunction with the Department of Education and Skills. There needs to be a refocus on apprenticeships and getting people back into the sector. We need to attract people back because the labour shortage is starting to kick in.

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