Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Will the Deputy will let me finish? I did not interrupt him. I would appreciate it if he could give me a bit of time. In the first instance, there has been an increase of 300% in housing supply since 2012. The Government has also delivered 34,000 new social homes, homes that are right for our citizens, since 2016. That represents a 300% increase in supply. While I accept that there are frustrations, there is a record budget within the Department, totalling €3.3 billion, to deliver social and affordable housing. As the Deputy will be aware, the Affordable Housing Bill has been going through the Houses of the Oireachtas and is nearing completion. The Land Development Agency is going to deliver houses at scale. There is nothing wrong with having ambition to deliver housing on the ground for our citizens. But for Covid, last year we would have delivered well over 20,000 units. The Deputy will see continued delivery over this year and next year. The facts speak for themselves with regard to the number of units on the ground. We have increased the numbers from a very low base and we will continue to increase them with a record budget in the Department.

See this speech in context