Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last November, the Labour Party with our Government colleagues Fine Gael, committed to tackling the housing problem in this country head on. We saw fantastic work being done before Christmas concerning the homeless in this city and other cities. Today I am pleased to acknowledge and welcome the next phase of this work, which is tackling local authority housing waiting lists. Through building, buying and leasing, the Government will spend €1.5 billion which will reduce housing waiting lists by 25%. In one action we will see a massive reduction in waiting lists.

In my own county of Tipperary alone, we will see 832 new houses either built, leased or bought at a cost of €57 million. Some 832 families will have their own homes for the first time. This is a massive development which I warmly welcome from my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly. Not alone will this development provide houses, but it will also provide the stimulus that has been spoken about by all parties in this House for many years. It will directly create jobs for builders and builders' providers - the breakfast roll men. This is a good news story which should be welcomed across the House.