Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

-----and to activate more housing nor have I ever seen a Government that was not allowed to do more than the programme for Government. We may stray beyond the programme for Government from time to time, so be warned. Meath County Council has surpassed its housing targets with the support of Government. We will work with it to do even more. Coming from a county with a growing young population, just like the Deputy, I want to ensure that constituents have access to affordable homes and that they can buy, rent and own. On the timelines, the advice that I have been given is that there were legal issues around the overall timeline, but also the potential implications to stall the markets. If we set a future date, whether it is tomorrow or in six months, the further out it is we prevent the commencement of property. There were legal issues around defining the commencement date and the timing. That is the information I have been given. This is on top of any of the other measures that have been put in place. I have to stress again that this about activating the tens of thousands of planning permissions that have not yet started and have not yet been acted on and making sure that we can bring far more apartment complexes into the overall context for people.

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