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

We are building public homes on public land. We built more public housing last year than in any year since 1975 - that is any year in the Deputy's lifetime or in mine - and I can guarantee we will build more this year. The LDA is building housing. Some 600 homes are under construction at the moment in Shanganagh. I will be travelling to Wicklow on Thursday morning to open a new housing development. The Deputy is welcome to come with me and I will show her the 600 houses under construction not too far from here in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Those homes will be occupied by people next year. The LDA is building housing. We can go to a site even closer than that, namely the Donore project at St. Teresa's Gardens where the LDA will be developing 500 homes. Some 265 homes are to be built at St. Kevin's Hospital, Cork. Planning approval was received only last week for 817 homes in Balbriggan and for a further 200 in Naas. I have not checked yet whether any of the Deputy's colleagues opposed those housing developments. I am not sure.

I read the LDA report. It is a useful report to read and it is an honest report. It shows that in addition to what is already being done - and it is in addition - approximately 66,000 more homes could be built on public land, but it is honest about the constraints. We should be honest with people about the constraints. Approximately 10,000 of those could be built in the next five to ten years. The remainder will take longer. That is the reality of house building in Ireland. For example, 600 people are already living in Cathal Brugha Barracks. It is an Army base. If we were to develop it for housing, which we may well do, those people and that base would have to be moved. Some of the sites are hospital sites. With the best will in the world, we all understand it takes time to build a new hospital and then to commission it. In some cases, there is no power connection, no water connection, the land is not zoned or there is no road connection. It is easy to say that the State should build 66,000 houses on public land and do so this or next year. This report studies that in detail. It considers 83 sites, site by site, showing what can be done and in what timeframe. Therefore, it is honest and realistic.

The LDA is our State land developer. It is our State house building company. The Deputy's party voted against the Land Development Agency Act 2021. I would like to know whether the Social Democrats is still against it and whether it would abolish the LDA if it got into Government. I believe that in time it will be as significant as the ESB or the Industrial Development Agency, IDA,-----

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