On page 55 of the programme for Government, under the mission of housing for all, it states: "We believe that home ownership should be within the reach of all our citizens." Over the past number of years, I have met hundreds of young couples who are working but have no real hope of owning their own home. They are earning slightly too much to qualify for social housing but not enough to secure a mortgage to purchase a home. They are stuck in a rental trap, struggling to save for a deposit. Local authorities throughout Ireland are building social housing schemes but there is no affordable housing scheme available to cater for this forgotten group of people.

I ask the Taoiseach to instruct local authorities to identify sites for affordable housing schemes as a matter of urgency. A site was recently purchased in Claregalway and is in the ownership of Galway County Council. This site should be considered for a pilot project for such an affordable housing scheme. I ask that Galway County Council be instructed to assign the site for a pilot scheme. When does the Government expect to have an affordable housing scheme in place?

The Minister with responsibility for housing is committed to the provision of affordable homes over the lifetime of this Government, to extending the serviced sites fund and to providing seed capital to local authorities to provide serviced sites at cost in towns and villages to allow individual families to build homes. In that context, I will ask the Minister to engage with the Deputy on the Claregalway situation.

The Government cannot necessarily instruct councils but it can engage with them to progress situations. That is what we want to do. I will ask the Minister to engage with Deputy Grealish in regard to the site he mentioned.