Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government made a significant announcement yesterday. He said he had secured agreement from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to recruit 200 new local authority staff to kick-start the social housing plan. These technical staff are required throughout the country to put together the ambitious plan to supply 35,000 social housing units at a cost of €3.8 billion over the next six years. We have a massive problem with housing waiting lists, which are lengthening. A total of 90,000 people are on the lists nationwide, with many of them in Galway city and county. I would like the additional architects, engineers, surveyors and planners to be recruited immediately and to put this ambitious plan together quickly. The Minister has given an instruction to the local authorities to act with haste to put the plan in place but it would be important to invite him to the House in the near future to give us an outline of the timescale for the implementation of the first phase of the social housing strategy. This crisis is serious. My colleague, Senator Hayden, raises on a regular basis the problem of the numbers on the housing waiting lists and the shortage of rental accommodation. It is critical that the construction of housing units commences at the earliest opportunity. Perhaps the Minister will inform us about the plan for the first phase.