Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It does, in fact, cost the same amount to build the home, whether it is in Waterford or Dublin. The differential is the cost and the value of the land. That is the issue here, and that it is why it is all the more scandalous, particularly in the case of Dublin city, where land values and prices are so high, that the Government and the State would so thoughtlessly hand over public land into the hands of private developers. The Taoiseach has painted what he regards as a very rosy picture but he will know that people have said, and evidence has reflected, that it has never been more difficult for people to buy a home. Affordability has never been such an issue. The evidence and the trends demonstrate very clearly that handing over public land to private developers for development does not deliver affordability. I have given the Taoiseach the prices at Oscar Traynor Road. I have asked him a straightforward question: does he know the rental rates at Oscar Traynor Road and O'Devaney Gardens? If he has those figures, will he please share them with the House?

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