Affordable housing is badly needed in Galway city. Residents in the Mervue area have raised concerns that the build-to-rent nature of the proposed development at Crown Square will result in sky-high rents that ordinary working people, including the children of locals, many of whom want to continue to live and raise families in the Mervue area, will be unable to afford. Build-to-rent development goes against the Government's national planning framework, which encourages sustainable living in town and city centres. There are also concerns regarding lower standards in build-to-rent apartments. We need good-quality apartments that people can rent at an affordable price and can afford to buy. Does the Tánaiste have concerns about the lack of affordable apartment buildings in Galway?

I have read a little in the newspapers about this development but I do not know the details of it and I do not, therefore, want to comment on it. A lot of apartment buildings would not be built at all were it not for the fact there was an investor willing to invest in them and pay upfront to provide the finance for them. Nobody would win if there were fewer apartments built. It would drive up prices and rents for everyone and we need to bear that in mind. We also need to bear in mind that there are people who need to rent for one reason or another for a period in their lives, if not for a long period. I do not like to see some politicians referring to people who live in apartments or people who rent as transients. I thought that was a very strange comment. What we need is for people not to oppose every type of housing development because they do not agree with a particular type of housing. We need more types of housing of all sorts in all places.