Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Then again, the Government does not agree with buying these properties because its message to the developers is that it will rent them off them and pay their mortgages over the next ten years. Then, they can sell them off when times get good again for a higher price.

The nonsense of knocking down houses is another attempt to restart the property boom which fed the Minister of State's party's coffers. When I was on Donegal County Council, I watched Fianna Fáil members, including a Senator who was later appointed by the Taoiseach, rezone land willy-nilly. They were putting points here and there on maps to indicate multiple developments. When Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill was the chairperson of the strategic policy and economic development committee for Donegal County Council, he argued for a tax incentive scheme for Donegal county so that more properties could be built. This was at a time when Donegal County Council received in excess of 8,000 planning applications every year. Fianna Fáil was arguing for a tax relief scheme in order that more properties could be built to fuel the housing market and keep the boys coming to the Galway tent. It is shameful the Minister of State sits there saying it is great we have this housing report that shows it is not as bad as some suggest.