Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Is it not wonderful that the Government is in a position to gift developers €450 million to subsidise the construction of apartments, all collected from fuel tax, income tax, motor tax and vehicle registration tax? It just shows that the worst-off in this country are the working-class people. The funds comprise a gift that does not have to be paid back. There is no cost–benefit analysis or regulatory assessment. The proposal is to give a subsidy of €144,000 per apartment. This policy does not make sense. At present, 120,000 people are on social or council housing waiting lists. In Limerick, there are 2,347 on the list. Under the scheme, a developer will get €120,000, with the subsidy to be as high as €144,000. With inflation this year running at 13%, costs could rise significantly, depending on building products. The cost of insulation is rising.

Again, this is a city-based budget for developers. Where will most of the apartments be built? In Dublin. Does the Government not look beyond Dublin? Limerick county has no capacity or infrastructure. I have been saying it since I came here. The proposal does nothing for County Limerick or any other such county, including Kerry, Clare and Galway. It is all city based so the Government can get its numbers up and get additional Deputies in the cities to further close down rural Ireland. It is a matter of a city-based Cabinet, policies and infrastructure, with nothing for the towns and villages around rural Ireland. Many of the cities do not have the infrastructure to do what is proposed either.

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