Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government's commitment is backed up by its actions. We are investing a record amount in public house-building. That is appropriate. When this country was much poorer, our local authorities and councils had a strong track record of building public housing and we need to get back to doing that again. In 2019, fewer than 6,000 public houses were built. This year, funding has been provided for 9,500 houses. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will finalise ambitious targets for the new Housing for All strategy, which will be published before the summer recess.

I welcome the ESRI report. It makes an important contribution to the debate and the issues that we have to consider. Last month, the ESRI stated that we may need to increase taxes. I did not hear the Deputy speak about increasing property tax, income tax, VAT or asking pensioners to pay PSRI. The Government has to take the whole picture into account and make decisions that reflect our commitment to Sláintecare and investing in climate action and transport. Housing and the provision of social and affordable housing is a top priority for the Government which will be reflected in all the decisions that we make.

See this speech in context