Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I share the concern about the resources that are needed. We keep looking at the housing crisis, which, obviously, must be our primary focus, but we have housing without public transport, local shops and local schools. There is a real issue in County Kildare. In that context, I recall a Dáil debate on the number of school places in County Kildare. It is not just crèches, it is across the whole spectrum. There is a real problem. Half of the new houses being built at the moment are in the counties surrounding Dublin, namely, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth. Half of the budget is being spent there. We have unbalanced regional development, a continuation of the sprawl model. We need housing in County Kildare but it cannot be housing without the other services to which I refer. Building in counties Kildare or Meath will not solve the housing crisis. There is a need to put in place the right quality of housing, which means services must also be provided.

See this speech in context