I very much support the efforts of the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, to speed up the supply and the announcement of the rapid-build housing. The Minister is talking about supplying 1,600 such units.

It was reported in The Sunday Times at the weekend that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, was to shut the door on tax reliefs for Airbnb. Airbnb-type businesses are having an enormous effect on the supply of housing, especially in urban areas. It is estimated that we have lost between 1,500 and 2,000 units that were in the ordinary rental market to Airbnb-type accommodation. I suggest to the Leader of the House that he bring it to the attention of both Ministers that to shut the door on the tax relief for rental of rooms, while important for the student market, will not have the effect that we want in shutting the door on the transfer of units that are let long term. Two or three months ago five apartments in my area on the South Circular Road that were rented to ordinary people on rent allowance working in the Civil Service and other areas where transferred to Airbnb. These are five units people had to leave. During the rounds of discussions with various lobby groups on what changes they wanted to see included in the budget, one person pointed out to me that five apartments in the Smithfield area that had been let long term by tenants working in the city had been transferred to short-term lets. Both Ministers need to look at what is happening throughout the world in that regard. In Berlin regulations are being brought forward to control the number of units being transferred to Airbnb accommodation. Only 50% of a flat in Berlin can be part of a short-term lease. Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick are not alone in dealing with this problem. It is affecting Berlin, London and Seattle, to name but a few cities which are bringing forward regulations and legislation to control it. We are in a period of constrained supply. While I welcome the Minister's proposal to build 1,500 rapid-build units, if we lose 1,500 at the other end, it will not serve any purpose. I urge the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, to look at this. He stated he would announce in the budget efforts to shut the door on tax relief on short-term lets, given the impact they were having having on the provision of student accommodation. We also need to look at efforts to shut the door to ensure we will not see a transfer to short-term leases of units being let in the market because that will make the housing problem far worse.

The budget negotiations are under way and there is engagement with the various parties and stakeholders. As policymakers and politicians, we must recognise that in recent years there have been considerable reductions in the pay, salaries and conditions of many. Having said all that, today we see many of the public sector unions lining up and coming forward with their pay claims and pay restoration claims. It is important to state that while it is popular for politicians to support all of these increases, at the same time we, as politicians, are looking for enhanced resources for public service provision. We, therefore, need to be careful. It is a fact that 70% to 80% of public expenditure is on pay and pensions, which leaves just over 20% for public services. It is my belief - this is where we need the debate - that in the budget we should prioritise the provision and restoration of services for three vulnerable sectors, namely, the disabled, the elderly and the sick who require access to health services.

We must also assist those in middle Ireland, the working young parents who are paying for child care and mortgages. They have carried the can for several years and need to be rewarded in some way in the budget. Will the Leader have a debate on the sustainability of public services? While recognising its contribution and its employees, we cannot have it every way. We need to have a considered and genuine debate on this issue.