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

I am informed by one of my colleagues that demountable homes are prefabricated homes, which is what they are called in Fingal and they can be constructed on site. I am told it is an option for local authorities. Ultimately it is for local authorities to come forward with those proposals. A sum of €6 billion is allocated in Project Ireland 2040 for investment in social housing over the next ten years. Investment in social housing is ramping up dramatically. To give the Deputy a rough idea of the figures, there were 657 direct builds. That increased to 2,434 last year. There were 1,250 acquisitions last year. There were 600 leases last year with more ambitious targets again for this year. There is a lot of money being invested in social housing, with €6 billion set aside for the next ten years. It is up to local authorities to come forward with proposals to the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. If Kerry County Council wants to come forward with proposals for demountable homes or prefabricated dwellings, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, and his Department will certainly consider them.

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