Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

There are lands belonging to the Dublin City Council at O'Devaney Gardens and Oscar Traynor Road. There are lands across the country belonging to other local authorities. We need to build public and cost rental housing on those lands. We do not know what "affordable housing" means because no one has ever given us an idea of the cost of an affordable house and I would like to see that soon. We cannot clear housing lists in Dublin City Council and all local authorities while, at the same time, more than 10,000 families are in emergency accommodation, others are in the streets, the Housing First initiative is ongoing and all of that. We have to be much more vigorous in targeting these public lands for public housing and strategically building units for people who need them. I believe the Land Development Agency can play a crucial role but there must be a clear indication of what "affordable housing" means and we do not have that indication.

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