Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The publication by the Government tomorrow morning of the latest update on the delivery of the housing action plan will show the progress we are making in the delivery of our housing targets. The Deputy only has to look at the figures for the first quarter of this year - the number of commencements and the number of homes currently being built - to see that we will do more than deliver on our targets for this year. That, in turn, will set the foundation for the delivery of more homes into the future. If we are to make the progress necessary to build more than 40,000 homes per year, we need to build up our ability to do it. We need to have a labour sector that is big enough, with the people available to do the work. We need to ensure the right projects are being delivered. We are doing that at the moment. While we will always need to make more progress in terms of supply and affordability - this is the case throughout Europe - increasingly we are seeing more houses, apartments and homes being built, year after year, by this Government. I believe this is reaching a height under our Administration this year, allowing us to set even better targets for the years ahead.

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