Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I refer to housing loans and affordable housing loans. There is an issue in Mayo where local authority tenants are paying rent. They are good rent payers. They may be in receipt of a social welfare payment. They could get a loan only the local authority will rule them out because they are in receipt of a social welfare payment. They could be investing and buying a house. They are blocked from doing so, however, because of the nature of the income they are receiving, notwithstanding that on that same income they are managing to pay rent which is the equivalent of what they would be paying on a loan.What is the National Asset Management Agency doing? NAMA controls land banks and has brought many builders to their knees. It announced great programmes for building housing, getting involved in an area which, to my mind, it decided to do late in the day. It should have decided to do so when it was established. What is it doing?

I raise the cost of construction in the private sector. We have a situation where, taking Mayo as an example, it is much cheaper to buy a house than to build a house. The local authority is finding the same situation. What steps is the Minister taking to reduce the cost of construction?