Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

That is in addition to the good and valuable work he is doing in the Republic, not least through his chairing of the Forum on the Future of Europe and making the European Union more understandable and, I hope, more meaningful to everybody, on which we wish him well.

Anything that can be done to provide affordable housing must be welcome. There was a debate on housing in the Dáil this week but the Government announcement was not mentioned then. Perhaps it is appropriate that it be mentioned where the issue is being discussed today. While I welcome the announcement, I understand it will apply to only two or three counties. This problem is evenly spread throughout the country and there is a great deal of State land available. I have raised this matter on a number of occasions but expect the Leader will arrange a debate in the autumn on an audit of State properties.