More than 800 sites owned by local authorities and public bodies will be offered to the private market according to the Fine Gael led government.

The Workers’ Party Rep. Gavin Mendel-Gleason believes this move is financially irresponsible:

If a corporation were to dump all of its productive assets, its share holders would replace the board of management in a heart-beat. And yet we have the Fine Gael government deciding to do just this.

He continued:

This is gross financial negligence, the state can utilise these assets in perpetuity for the betterment of the residents of Ireland, or it can sell them off in a one-time deal to get some pocket money which it will quickly spend leaving nothing to show for it.

Rep Gavin Mendel-Gleason said that the appropriate way to deal with the land was for the state to build houses.

The state needs to begin building houses itself, and it should do so by creating public housing. The beautiful city of Vienna has 30% of its housing built by the state and available to virtually anyone at cost-rent. This is the way to alleviate the housing supply crisis without impoverishing the state and its citizens.