Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Taoiseach as an cheist seo a fhreagairt. The closing date for the receipt of applications for these four vacancies was 21 February. The Taoiseach says the process has been completed and that he has a list of proposed appointees. When does the Taoiseach propose to announce who the individuals are? I imagine there were any number of applications for these vacancies and posts, given the nature and function of the council. How many applicants were there from whom the Taoiseach had to choose the four successful candidates? How many were on the list that was handed to the Taoiseach for decision? I seek a bit more detail on the numbers.

One current area of work for the council is on land use, land value and urban development. I note a recent workshop on the issue in late February, which focused in particular on housing affordability. There were presentations and examples from the Netherlands and Austria where Vienna boasts one of the best housing systems of any capital city globally. Given the Taoiseach's love of all things European, can we expect recommendations from the NESC to enhance State and local authority involvement in affordable housing?

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