Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Last week, I raised the issue of a primary care centre at Curlew Road which was promised by the Government in 2012. It was apparently still in the Government's plans when my colleague, Deputy Billy Kelleher, tabled a parliamentary question in 2015. Today, at 3.13 p.m., I received a note from the HSE stating that the site does not form part of the funded plan for development. Can the Leader say how this site fell off the plan for development, having been there between 2012 and 2015, and why this is the first we have heard in writing on this matter? Is this related to the questions which my party leader, Deputy Mícheál Martin, asked in the Dáil earlier? Is there a serious issue related to the HSE budget deficit? Is this the reason that this project has been sidelined? I call on the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, to come to the Chamber to address this issue.

I also wish to raise the mortgage to rent scheme. I welcome the terms of the scheme, which offers a 2% fixed interest rate over a lifetime of 25 years. I would be very happy with those very favourable terms and welcome them for all young couples. However, the big issue is supply. I know a young couple who have been in the market to buy a house in Crumlin for the past month. When this scheme was announced last weekend, house prices jumped dramatically from the €280,000 bracket to the over €300,000 bracket. First, we should review the scheme to ensure it is working and having the correct effect. Second, as I have said before, we must ensure that we have a State-wide house building programme. Without addressing the matter of supply, we will never correct the housing market.