Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has deliberately ignored the substance of the Government's intervention in the housing market. We are on the cusp of the largest social housing building programme, through the allocation of substantial funding on unprecedented scale. That is a reality. The issue will be delivery and getting those houses built through the local authorities. The authorities must start commissioning builders to get those housing estates built on the social housing front.

In the context of affordability, a range of initiatives have been undertaken, all of which the Deputy has opposed for various ideological reasons but which are designed to and will make homes more affordable for people. The fundamental issue is one of supply and of getting more houses built. What I have seen the Deputy present is "Stop that, stop that, stop that" but the alternative from that side of the House is not as clear, except that, it seems to me, there would a 100% provision on the social housing front. However, there are many people in this country who want to own their own homes. They have that aspiration and it is a long-held one. In our view, the State should assist by facilitating people to buy their own homes. To do that, it will need more than just investment in social housing-----

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