Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I, too, support Senator Naughton's call for a debate on unmarked baby graveyards. As mentioned by her, she was one of the first people to raise the Galway babies issue. The positive news announced by her today in regard to the inquiry is to be welcomed.

NAMA is offering units for social housing. While this is a good and positive development, I condemn NAMA's proposal to offer 500 units in one location, namely, Tallaght. This proposal was previously refused by South Dublin County Council but NAMA has recently announced its intention to put it back on the agenda. We all aware of the policy regarding 20% social housing provision in any area. Social integration is a must. However, when planning for housing, we must do so properly. A social mix is considered, not only in Ireland but internationally, to be best. South Dublin County Council is one of the most proactive in ensuring the social housing agenda is fulfilled. It is also one of the most proactive county councils in the country. NAMA cannot be allowed to do what was done in the dark ages when Dublin Corporation transferred people from the city to Tallaght. Tallaght is a beautiful area. It has all the facilities of the Luas, the hospital, a cinema and so on. In my view, NAMA should make some of the units concerned available for sale, with the remainder provided for social housing. Some €15 million has been ring-fenced by the council for social housing.

I call on the Leader to ask the Minister with responsibility for housing to ensure that every policy implemented by NAMA is in accordance with national policy. Everybody agrees that we need social housing, but it needs to be properly planned; otherwise, we will have problems down the road. Tallaght is a beautiful area. We must ensure it remains so and that we do not return to the dark ages in terms of implementing old policies when we should be implementing new ones.