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

Government investment in housing happens in many different ways. There is investment in forms of public housing like, for example, cost rental, which the Deputy did not mention in his remarks. That is now a reality and a scheme people can avail of. We need much more of that. The Deputy will see affordable housing schemes led by Government being rolled out across the country over the next few months. The first have happened already. There is also investment in social housing.

I welcome that it is now widely acknowledged that we are seeing record levels of investment in social housing by this Government. It was not that long ago, in 2015 or 2016, when only 600 new social homes were being built in the country every year. That was when my party came into Government and Deputy Simon Coveney took over the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. Under this Government, approximately 10,000 new social homes are being provided every year, possibly even more. That is a step change. We are seeing housing waiting lists go down and hundreds of people and families receiving social housing every month. That is not just for their benefit. It is to their benefit as it takes them off the housing list, but it also has a wider societal benefit because it frees up other homes for people to rent and buy. It is, therefore, an investment that assists everyone.

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