Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I welcome the Minister of State's clarification of the statistics on the funding. Dublin City Council has been investing in its housing stock for some time and reducing the voids. I think the council has some of the lowest void levels in the country. That is because it made the decision that was not just going to rely on central government funding and we were going to invest - I say "we" like I think I am still on the local authority - in its own stock as well. With some local authorities, there is a bit of inertia as they want all the money from central government but we must remember a housing authority is a housing authority, meaning it should manage its own housing stock.

I do not agree with the people who say we are sometimes over-speccing when we are doing a void because the local authority will often not go back into that home for 40, 50 or 60 years and if we are going to make the changes we need on climate action and living standards, I am certainly happy people are not living in the living standards they were living in 40, 50 or 60 years ago and I hope the people in 40 or 50 years will have the benefit of the investment we are putting in now.

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