Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

It asked those polled whether they thought the Government can solve the housing crisis. Of those asked that question, 75% said "No".

This scheme being pursued by the Government does not do anything to build confidence. It is beyond belief that the scheme does nothing but place taxpayers' money directly into the pockets of private developers, enabling them to go on to make more profit at the expense of buyers.

I ask the Minister to answer the questions put to him by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan. From where did this idea come? What contact did the Minister have? Was he lobbied on this issue? Essentially, the construction industry tends to write Government policy. That is not dissimilar to the situation prior to the crash, when it was done in the Galway tent. It is more subtle now but there is no doubt the construction industry appears to be all over the kind of decisions that are being made.

The Social Democrats was in favour of a land development agency, but one with a different remit, a remit to use public land-----

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