Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Minister of State is aware that Louth County Council had an overspend of several million euro this year, which resulted in it not being able to provide housing adaptation grants or carry out repairs. People in Drogheda and Dundalk and elsewhere in County Louth have broken heating systems but the council cannot send anyone to fix them because it is in dire financial straits. Is the Minister of State saying that the CEO of Louth County Council and the director of services for housing have refused point-blank to contact the Department about funding for the roll-out of projects? I want the Minister of State to clarify the position. Have they said point-blank that they do not want housing on the land? Has the Minister offered them money for the roll-out of social and affordable housing and they have refused it? I want to clarify the position on the record.

I hope the Minister of State does not even hallucinate about targeting the council-owned lands for the farce of the Land Development Agency because only 10% of the 800 houses would be social and only 30% would be affordable. In the Minister of State's thinking, €320,000 is affordable. This would mean that a person would have to have to have a deposit of €32,000, get a mortgage for €288,000 and be earning a salary of €82,000. Will the Minister of State get real?

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