Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think the Deputy is trying to misrepresent what I said, and that is exactly what he did the last time we discussed the issue of housing in the Chamber. Unfortunately, he was partially successful in that regard. That is a poor reflection on him but also on others who accept his spin too often when it comes to the issue of housing.

To answer the Deputy's question, the Government has dramatically increased investment in social housing. We will do so more, and he will see the details of that in Housing for All when it is published. Social housing benefits everyone. It gets people off the housing list and into social housing, frees up more properties for other people to rent, thus bringing down rents, and means there is less competition for first-time buyers and people who are upgrading. Social housing is a good investment and it benefits everyone in society, not just those who receive social housing.

What the majority of people in Ireland want, however, is to own their own homes, and we have to look at that end of things as well because it is not just one simple solution that solves all these problems. This is a complex area and it requires many different policy interventions. More social housing is absolutely needed and I ask Sinn Féin councillors to please vote for it on local authorities. We do but they do not. The solution involves cost rental and affordable housing schemes but it also involves the building of more private homes that people can buy because that is what the vast majority of people want.

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