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

I thank the Deputy for her response. As I said during previous debates, as did the Minister, we are monitoring the situation in the context of the record-breaking monetary value of the new initiatives approved by this House. There is a recommendation in Housing for All to make a determination for quarter 4 this year. My county of Westmeath is on the same band as the Deputy's and I meet those vulnerable people at my clinic every single week. That is why we are working night and day in government, with a €4 billion multi-annual budget, to respond to that challenge and ensure people have the best possible chance of realising the ambition of home ownership in the first instance and, in the second, to protect the most vulnerable who need that housing support. We are doing that in significant proportions. As I said, we have matched the ESRI request with €4 billion a year to try to deliver 33,000 homes on average over the next number of years, which society really needs. That is the business we are in. We are listening to those vulnerable citizens.

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