Pat Moylan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate him and his Department officials on their work over the past few years regarding the development of housing.

I support the amendment. As one who served on a local authority for many years I find it difficult to read the motion. Listening to the various speakers I am conscious that no one in this House or in any local authority would say they do not want more money to build more houses, but credit is due to the local authorities and the Department for the quality housing they are building. Not only should we commend the quality of the houses being built, but also the way local authority estates are now built, with good footpaths, road and lighting. That good infrastructure did not exist in the past when many housing estates left much to be desired.

In the past, it was the norm for local authorities to build mainly three-bedroom houses but they were not suitable for the demands of single girls with one or two children. Smaller type houses were required. The Minister's Department and the local authorities set about changing that and affording those people an opportunity to acquire a smaller house more suitable to their needs.

The Minister also provided for the building of a number of houses for the elderly in our towns and villages. There is not a town or village which does not have such housing and many elderly people are still living in them. If the Minister had not taken that step and delivered that type of accommodation, those elderly people would be in various institutions throughout the country. We have to recognise that measure.

Local authorities are building houses of high quality, with central heating and double glazed windows. Those houses are on a par with any house being built in the private sector. In my own county we opened a number of estates over the past few weeks. Thanks to the Minister's help by way of grant aid, we were in a position to provide those quality houses for the tenants who were delighted to acquire them because they now have a good environment in which to bring up their families.

Over the past number of years local authorities have been in a position to purchase existing houses in estates at reasonable prices. With a small amount of expenditure they were brought up to the appropriate standard and reallocated to families.

We now have a situation where more people work. We are all canvassing for the local elections but we have to ask ourselves if we can canvass during the day, with many families out working. When we used canvass in the past very few people were out at work. We would knock on a door and a woman would come out and tell us that some members of the family were looking for jobs. That is not the case now. Young couples are now in a position to buy houses for their families and in many cases they have done so.

I hope the Department and local authorities will look more favourably on what has been going on regarding the provision of private sites. Such sites are provided at affordable prices to young people on the housing list to build their own houses. That has happened in a number of areas throughout the country but I hope that provision will be extended in our villages and towns.

The Minister has given a substantial amount of money to local authorities to provide accommodation for Travellers. There are problems in that area but a look back at the record will indicate that almost every local authority failed to spend its allocation to provide accommodation for Traveller families, whether in halting sites or group housing. We must ensure that local authorities take on that issue. It may not be popular to provide such accommodation in locations where people object to it, but local authority representatives are elected to take the tough decisions——