Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I cannot say I agree with the Taoiseach on many of those points. When the Taoiseach says demand-led measures, the demand he is aiming for is a target of 30,000. That is half of what the Housing Commission says we should be aiming for. For the past ten years, we have incurred a deficit of 250,000 homes. That is 25,000 a year less than we should have been building. If the Taoiseach continues with his attitude, we will end up with another 250,000 deficit on top of the deficit we already have. The Government’s targets are far too low. The Housing Commission says we need to be building between 45,000 and 65,000 homes annually. The Taoiseach is greatly underestimating the level of anger and frustration in families who are unable to get students into college accommodation or get their families to move out for the want of accommodation. Furthermore, many are taking back their sons and daughters with grandchildren. The Taoiseach should read the article again and please consider the proposals I have put to him because we need to build more houses and ensure they are viable into the future.

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