David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will not detain the House for very long. I did not intend to speak very much about this matter. In fact, I did not intend to speak at all, but then I saw an opportunity to do so.

I commend the Minister who is both decent and hard-working. If the Department of Health was described as Angola, I do not know how the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government would be described because it is a poisoned chalice. The time factor is always an issue as people expect instant solutions. There is a housing crisis and they want to have it resolved by next year or in six months' time, but these things are accumulators. They take a long time and we must build them up. I place the blame on various Governments for not engaging in a public housing programme. I disagree completely with my good friend, Senator Buttimer, on the balance between private and public housing. He said one fifth of the houses being built were private. I do not care. It does not bother me in the slightest. What we need is a massive public housing programme. I remember the great estates. I am not partisan, but they were largely built by Fianna Fáil. Places like Crumlin-----