Aideen Hayden (Labour) | Oireachtas source

A new report by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland indicates there should be an increase in construction in the order of 30% in the next four years. Unfortunately, this is a hopelessly inadequate response to the emerging housing need and crisis we are witnessing. At the height of the boom, 89,000 units were built, which we all accept was way too many. Last year fewer than 10,000 units - approximately 8,000 units - were built, despite the positive growth in household formation of approximately 20,000 plus per year. We are heading steadily towards a very serious and significant housing problem which is not confined to the city of Dublin, as is evident when we examine the increases in house prices outside the greater Dublin area, as we saw in the past week. I ask that the Minister of State with responsibility for housing and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government come to the House to discuss the plans for the construction sector in the coming years. At the height of the boom, the construction sector accounted for 23% of GNP. The sector has collapsed entirely and the report by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland indicates that there is an emerging skills gap in it. We are all aware that a significant number of our construction workers are in New Zealand rebuilding Christchurch. It will be a long time before we are able to entice a number of our construction workers to return to the country. Therefore, we really need a concerted response to the emerging crisis. I was particularly disturbed to read in some of the new Sunday newspapers that we were planning to abandon Part 5 - development levies and a number of other measures. It is high time, therefore, that we had a debate on the subject and less nuance in the newspapers.