John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I had not intended coming in but I have to. We had people saying in the earlier debate that we cannot have leasing. Now we are told we cannot have public private partnerships. We do not want to vote for an LDA which will be tasked with providing public housing on public land. I have said time and again we have to use every mechanism at our disposal, be it the councils, the approved housing bodies, the Land Development Agency, public private partnerships, leases or private builders to solve the housing crisis. We consistently ask in this Chamber to tie two hands behind the State's back and still resolve the housing crisis. It cannot be done. Please allow this Government to use every tool at its disposal in order to solve the housing crisis. Otherwise, do not complain that we cannot get on top of our figures. The only way we will be able to do that is by giving the State every tool in its armoury to deliver for individuals and families.