Victor Boyhan (Independent)

That reply is exceptionally disappointing and simply not good enough. The Minister of State is not in a position to tell me when the Ardrew housing scheme in Athy, County Kildare, will be advanced. It really is appalling. The housing scheme has planning permission, yet the project has sat on his table in his Department. As Kildare County Council has confirmed, the Department has been aware of all the developments I listed. If I was one of the nearly 5,000 people on Kildare County Council's housing list, I would be disappointed.

The Minister of State did not give a timeline or date for when these works will start. I accept and respect the fact that he is speaking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage but that is no consolation to the people in County Kildare who are on the housing list. This site is advanced. All of these sites and bundles have planning permission. What the hell, who is minding the housing issue in the Custom House when we have been told time and again that we have a housing crisis? Clearly, we are not important enough for the Department to advance these units. I ask the Minister of State to confirm to me that I can go downstairs and pick up the phone to the guys in Kildare County Council and say this project will happen within six weeks, six months or six years.