Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Spokespeople are also creating plenty of argument. It misses the point, quite frankly. We have asked the CSO to do some work on tracking accurately the number of new homes being built, because that is unclear at the moment. Some people base their figures on ESB connections, which is fairly accurate because it includes new homes and homes that have been off the grid for two years, which is as good as a new home. However, as it can also include things such as outhouses on farms, it is not a perfect statistic, even though it is a good one. Some people use BER certifications, which is also not perfect because one-off housing regularly does not require BER. We have asked the CSO to come up with a reliable set of figures it can stand over when it comes to new home building and we expect it to report on that in the next few months. As for homelessness, we have not asked the CSO to do that but it is a possibility that we could ask that the current figures be suspended and to ask the CSO to produce something more accurate that everyone can stand over. I do not believe anyone disputes statistics produced by the CSO. Statistics from Departments may be disputed, and people rightly dispute those that come from interest groups such as NGOs and others, but nobody disputes the figures from the CSO. It is probably the best organisation to provide these numbers.

Deputy Martin Kenny asked about investment in ports. If one looks at Project Ireland 2040, investment in our ports is specifically mentioned. Our ports are commercial entities, even though they are State-owned. The details are provided on port expansion plans for Dublin, Cork and Shannon-Foynes.

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