James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad that both Ministers with responsibility for housing are in the Chamber. The chair of the Housing Agency, Dr. Conor Skehan, in terms of the national development plan, referred to the foolishness of these types of initiatives and of the overall plan. Let us be clear on what we are doing. In the middle of a housing crisis we are taking established areas in our commuter belt that are supplied with infrastructure and services, with serviced and zoned lands that are ready to go, and we are saying we should put a curtain over them and fold them up for 20 years. That is insanity. In the case of Naas, the 2031 caps have been met, with the sites under construction in 2018. The 2031 figures will be reached, possibly later this year. For the next 11 or 12 years, there will be no more housing in that commuter belt. That is insanity.

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