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

If that involves a combination of measures, including direct build, affordable housing bodies like the Iveagh Trust, acquisitions under Part V, long-term leases or direct purchase from developers, so be it. That is the best way to do it quickly. We managed to add 7,000 units to our social housing stock last year. I understand that Deputy Ó Broin disputes that and says the total is 6,300. I will not argue over the difference between 6,300 and 7,000 because either way it is a big increase on the previous year's total. We will increase it by even more next year, with the aim of getting to about 10,000 or 11,000 units per year so that roughly 20% of all new homes built in the country in any given year will be publicly owned. That is the space in which we need to be.

In terms of education, I answered a question on the Citizens' Assembly yesterday but I want to restate the Government's commitment to greater diversity in education. We spoke a lot about choice and the right to choose in recent weeks. I also believe in the right to choice when it comes to education. Some people will want a Catholic or Protestant education while others will want to send their children to a Gaelscoil, a Gaelcholáiste, an Educate Together school or to one of the many other types of school that exist. While it is not always possible to give everyone his or her first choice, we should try to provide for choice and diversity in education. We recognise that there are more Catholic run or owned schools than are justified given the changes in our population. We now need to see more schools that are not under Catholic patronage. This is very much underlined in the Government's commitment to providing 300 to 400 additional multi-denominational and Educate Together schools in the years ahead. It is also underlined in our commitment to surveying parents on the type of school they want when a new school is being built. In my constituency, parents in Tyrrelstown decided that they wanted to have a Catholic secondary school and the Le Chéile school has now been built. It is a beautiful school and is doing really well. In other parts of my constituency, parents decided that they wanted an Educate Together secondary school. That has now been built and is also doing really well.

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