Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will get to affordability. So far this year, we are seeing around 500 people per week buying their first home. Sometimes, we get the impression from Deputy McDonald that no one is buying a house and nothing is happening, but that is simply not the reality.

On top of that on the social housing side of things, we saw the largest number of social houses allocated last year than at any time since the 1970s. Never in my lifetime were more social homes allocated than last year. We are making very significant progress in respect of housing supply.

It is particularly regrettable that the Deputy conveniently misrepresents the Government’s position on Aungier Street because she, the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and other TDs for Dublin Central probably know the story better than most.

This House passed legislation, which I would say that the Deputy voted for, establishing the Grangegorman Development Agency, GDA. That set up an organisation in law that was charged with disposing of properties, including on Aungier Street - it is in the functions of the law - and putting the money generated from that into Grangegorman in the Deputy's constituency and one of the most incredible transformative projects. I believe the Deputy described it as her university when she visited it in February and looked on in great marvel at the huge contribution it has made to education in her community but much more widely than in just in her community. It has always been known by her and by those she met in Technological University Dublin that day that these properties would be disposed of and that every cent would go into the delivery of education. The Deputy might excuse me if I do not tolerate or buy the faux outrage here today because the Deputy knows the law well relating to the GDA.

She also knows that when we passed the Land Development Agency Act 2021, which I believe the Deputy opposed, it specifically also referred to the Grangegorman Development Agency. There is no big gotcha moment here. The Government position on the disposal of former Dublin Institute of Technology property has always been clear: dispose and put the money into education into the transformative Grangegorman campus in the Deputy's constituency.

We also checked with the Land Development Agency and the agency confirmed in writing to Government that it was not planning on developing that site for housing in any event.

On Oscar Traynor Woods, the Deputy is cherry-picking figures. The reality of the situation is that across Ireland, the average price under the affordable purchase homes under Government schemes is €267,000. Of course, when one has A-rated homes in certain parts of the city, we can see higher figures but we now have on Oscar Traynor Woods house prices that are 19% to 21% lower than market prices. These are facts that are worth repeating.

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