Hear, hear.

On the Order of Business, I commend the Leader on a very active day today in the House. There is a very commendable amount of work to be done in the House today. Arising from yesterday's budget, I commend Deputies Michael McGrath and Cowen, and indeed the Minister, on negotiating the budget. They put considerable work into it. I commend the leader of Fianna Fáil, Deputy Micheál Martin, on his commitment to the country in supporting the Government in the confidence and supply arrangement. It would be very easy not to get involved and just to stand aside. I commend him on the leadership he has shown.

On the budget and the question of affordable houses and affordable sites, let us call it what it is. We want to build local authority houses in every county, including Dublin, and it can be done.

It was done in the 1940s and 1950s. There is no rocket science to building houses. There does not seem to be that commitment with the Minister or Department to implementing a housing policy. When I was 26, I built two houses. I got a loan from the county council, £3,250 from the Department and £3,250 from the county council. I was on a very small wage. I repaid the loan in 1999, just before the end of the millennium.

Must have built a grand couple of houses.

They are excellent houses and they are still there.

Did Senator Leyden build them himself?

I was involved in physically bringing the blocks up to the first floor to put them up.

Bravo.

My brother Jimmy and another few were the builders. The point I am making is that there is not that approach now to building houses. We are now entering into an agreement for the possibly next year, at least.

The Senator is running out of time.

I want to make a very important and significant point. There should be a national housing bond of approximately €3 billion. People have money saved in banks at 0.2% interest. If one got a 20 year loan from people like that at even 2%, one would raise an enormous amount of money that could be spent on housing and solve this problem once and for all.

I do not have any approval from the party to say this but I will say it anyway. There should be a designated senior civil servant in housing to liaise with our Deputy Darragh O'Brien to see the implementation of the budget which was agreed in the Dáil yesterday. That is the only way of ensuring that our confidence and supply agreement can be implemented. I have no confidence whatsoever that this Minister or the Department will do it without the input from a Fianna Fáil link to the implementation of budget 2019.

Fianna Fáil knows how to blow a bubble all right.

Just like Charlie McCreevy.

Ten years of experience-----

Before I call Senator Marshall, I welcome my former colleague, Joe Callanan, to the House. As it might indicate that Joe is making a comeback, I wish him well.