Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Government keeps saying there is. I know for a fact that Wexford County Council cannot get money from the Government. Approved housing bodies can get some money from the Government much quicker than the local authorities. It takes the local authority two years to get money approved. I do not understand why that is the case. I must get someone to sit down with the Minister of State to discuss that.

The Minister of State referred to the expertise in NAMA. I would like him to give me the evidence of the expertise on the board of NAMA around residential development. Where is the background among the members in residential development? I do not expect he can give me that now but he might arrange to provide me with that. I would say they have no experience in producing residential units. They have none. I can tell him what they have experience in. The evidence is there that they have experience in the disposing of land and properties, including houses and apartments, at fire-sale prices. They have no experience in construction. They buy through the developer. NAMA is building out some of the land that it is sitting on by doing deals with developers who have the experience, but when one does that deal, the affordability element goes out the window because currently a developer in this State is looking for a profit margin per unit of between €60,000 and €80,000 for himself.

That is the truth and it is happening. Why would we go down that track and why, in God's name, would we engage NAMA in this entity? It is beyond me.

On the problem with state aid rules, we know for a fact that Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria and France have all defied them in the past five years. They have all broken them when it suited them. Why does Ireland not go to the European Union to say we have a massive problem with infrastructure and that we need to spend loads of money in building loads of houses to be provided at an affordable price for the people of Ireland, as well as social housing units for those who cannot afford to buy a house at any price? Why do we not do a deal with the European Union? If the Government cannot do this and it is restricted by state aid rules, I ask the Minister of State to, please, not bring NAMA into the equation. Memories are short, but it should be remembered that a commission of investigation was set up to look into NAMA. Can we, please, wait for the results of that investigation before the Government gives NAMA another gig?

See this speech in context