Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the Order of Business, I commend the Leader on a very active day today in the House. There is a very commendable amount of work to be done in the House today. Arising from yesterday's budget, I commend Deputies Michael McGrath and Cowen, and indeed the Minister, on negotiating the budget. They put considerable work into it. I commend the leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Micheál Martin, on his commitment to the country in supporting the Government in the confidence and supply arrangement. It would be very easy not to get involved and just to stand aside. I commend him on the leadership he has shown.

On the budget and the question of affordable houses and affordable sites, let us call it what it is. We want to build local authority houses in every county, including Dublin, and it can be done.It was done in the 1940s and 1950s. There is no rocket science to building houses. There does not seem to be that commitment with the Minister or Department to implementing a housing policy. When I was 26, I built two houses. I got a loan from the county council, £3,250 from the Department and £3,250 from the county council. I was on a very small wage. I repaid the loan in 1999, just before the end of the millennium.