Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure if it is coincidental that this was just reviewed yesterday and the decision was made. I take it the recommendation was for no change. What information does the Minister have on the delays within the process? We are trying to facilitate local authorities being able to tender and procure directly for relatively small schemes. A €2 million threshold basically means eight to ten houses.

It does not make any sense to me that the Department wants to have absolute control over anything above that. One of the concerns raised in some information we got from the Department is based on the belief that it would lose control of approximately 44% of the housing budget. I do not think that is the case. It is not a question of letting local authorities just go off and do it and that there would be no oversight. We need to find a mechanism to deliver building of social houses quicker. This was agreed in the discussions on the recent budget and the one prior to that, yet the Minister has told me this morning that the recommendation is that there would be no change. Is that a Government decision or is it a recommendation?

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