Larry Butler (Fianna Fail)

I did not interrupt Senator Coffey, so I do not expect him to interrupt me. It is important to ask the Minister to audit the local authorities to ensure they get better value for taxpayers' money. We can argue about how we do that. Houses lying empty in Dublin alone cost €1.1 billion. It is my responsibility as a Senator and spokesman to ask the Minister to carry out an audit of each local authority to see how this can be addressed, especially when one considers that some people must wait up to ten years for housing. That is not fair. The county manager in each local authority has a responsibility to get better value for taxpayers' money which we allocate to local authorities.

I agree with the Minister of State's comments that we should not interfere in the marketplace. The market will decide and it is not for politicians to interfere in the market because it distorts it. There is now competition in the marketplace. The construction of 100,000 houses per annum is unsustainable in a country as small as this. We have had a marvellous run and it is important to allow the market to adjust, which it is doing. A year or two ago young people were under a lot of pressure to get a house and they will now have an opportunity to do so, which is good.