I wish to raise the setting up of the Land Development Agency, the latest quango. I will give an example which I am sure could be replicated in every county across the State. Louth County Council has 50 acres of council-owned landbanks which would provide 1,000 social and affordable housing units, should the political will be there to fund them.

Under the Government's latest quango, those 50 acres will only deliver 100 social houses and 300 affordable houses or, as it now appears, unaffordable houses. In essence, the Government's Land Development Agency will deprive the citizens of Louth of 600 social and affordable houses on council-owned land banks. Why does the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government feel the need to set up a quango that he knows will not deliver, and has no intention of delivering, any meaningful volume of social and affordable housing when he is doing such a perfectly good job himself? Is it because he can hide behind it? Is that why he wants to set it up?

As our housing crisis deepens, will the Taoiseach tell me why he and his Government refuse point blank to fund a State-wide social and affordable house building programme when he knows the misery the housing crisis is causing families across this State day in, day out? Will he give me straight answers to the questions about the quango and funding?

I thank the Deputy for the question. For decades, we have had the wrong approach and attitude to the use of land in the public interest. As a result of that dysfunctional relationship, we have seen violent and dramatic swings in our housing sector that have hurt many people up and down this country, for example, ten years ago when the crash arrived and today. We know there is an unacceptable number of people in homelessness. This Government has a dedicated social house building programme. The Taoiseach referred to it earlier. A total of 110,000 homes will be built over ten years under Rebuilding Ireland and Project Ireland 2040. It is improper of Deputy Munster to mislead the public and the Dáil by saying that public houses are not being built because they are being built.

Less social and affordable housing will be delivered. That is a fact.

Fine Gael's friends, the developers, are back in-----

Could we have order for the Minister to respond?

The Minister accused me of misleading the Dáil.

Deputies do not have to agree with what the Minister says.

I want him to correct that statement.

The Minister has been asked a question. All Members deserve the courtesy of being able to reply. Members do not have to agree with them but please allow them to reply.

The Land Development Agency is in the public interest. The State will be the developer of public lands, not the private sector. We will bring forward State land for houses for the general public - social housing, subsidised housing and housing for people up and down the country who need homes. It is important to state that where a local authority has land, that is not our interest. This land is for the local authority to build social and affordable housing on. Louth County Council has been given the policy, powers and money to build housing. We are publishing the targets for those local authorities. It is for the local authorities to do that. A total of €6 billion was ring-fenced in 2017.