Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not know the answer to the specific question Deputy Barry put to me this evening. I do not have the answer to the question that he is looking for in that legislation. I will see if I can find the information and I will certainly share it with Deputy Barry if I can.

On Deputy Healy-Rae's comments about how we can sustainably build homes, we can sustainably build homes by the State playing its role in the next year by investing €4.1 billion in directly building homes ourselves, or by paying for the infrastructure that will allow the private sector to build homes. Inside that very simple description there is a huge number of very complex things that we need to do quicker and better than we are doing at the moment. I accept what Deputy Healy-Rae has said, that we are not building homes at the pace, at the speed, and in the locations we need to. I am well aware of the huge concern and anxiety that so many have to endure because of that.

With regard to Deputy Doherty's contribution, I stand absolutely over everything I have said with regard to Sinn Féin a moment ago. I never inferred anywhere in anything I said that Sinn Féin policy was contributing to the rental difficulties of recent years.

Deputy Doherty asked about my record and I will tell him what my record is. My record is that I have had the privilege of being in government, representing the people and serving the people as a member of Cabinet. I began my time as a member of the Cabinet in the aftermath of a housing crash that saw so few homes being built, that saw social housing output on the floor, and saw such misery after the last housing crash our country had to endure. With regard to where we are now, housing output was on the verge of recovery before the pandemic. I accept it is not recovering at the speed that was acceptable to enough people. In the aftermath of the pandemic, I believe we are seeing 6,000 homes being delivered for social purposes and we are seeing housing output recover. I accept that is not happening quickly enough for many, but I equally contend that the policies Sinn Féin puts forward are a recipe for fewer homes being built.

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