Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Public land should be used for building public housing - social and affordable housing - full stop. The days of Fianna Fáil and its crony friends, the big developers, creaming off at the people’s expense should be over. I would have thought the Taoiseach would have learned that from catastrophes past but perhaps he has not. He is confirming that €1 billion will be spent and will go into the pockets of these investment funds to lease back homes that will not be owned by the State. His assertion that this measure is transitional or short-term is patently untrue, given that the lifespan of these leases is 25 years. Moreover, the Government’s focus is not on direct build.

If its focus on was on direct build and the delivery of public, social and affordable housing at scale, then we would not have this point of contention or disagreement. It is Sinn Féin's view, as well as that of the ESRI and many others, that we need to double capital investment in the construction of social and affordable housing. I ask the Taoiseach to please confirm that the summer economic statement will contain a doubling of capital investment in this way. He is the Taoiseach and I would appreciate a direct answer.

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