Proposals for public housing construction
Ahern asked whether developers’ proposals to build public housing with payment deferred until completion could be considered to sustain employment. Quinn said reasonable proposals would be considered, while warning that allegedly low-cost housing had proved expensive.
Would the Minister do an investigation into public housing? I believe some proposals were put forward by some developers and investors that public authority housing could be built, and rather than let massive redundancies continue when there is a well trained work force available, the houses could be built and the Department would pay at the end of construction rather than on a phased basis as at present. Would the Minister consider those proposals? What is his view and his Department's policy on those proposals?
Comment on this
As far as the Department are concerned we would certainly consider any reasonable proposals, but I would remind the Deputy that there is a legacy of allegedly low cost housing which was built in another time, which has turned out to be the most expensive part of the building stock that was ever constructed.