Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not being privatised. It is a use of State-owned land. I accept that Sinn Féin believes that on any site all the housing should be built by the taxpayer, but that is not the best use of taxpayers' money and it will not give the best mix of housing that should be brought forward. We must make a decision about the best use of taxpayers' money, that is, about how taxpayers' money can be stretched to deliver all the houses we need. The State cannot build every house required by this country because there will not be enough tax to do that. Therefore, the asset, namely, land, must be used in the best way possible to deliver housing to all the different sectors, a big part of which is social and affordable housing, but which also includes private housing. The Senator might not like that but some day he will realise that one cannot keep asking the taxpayer to fund everything.