asked the Minister for Local Government if he will explain the delay in handing over to the Dublin Corporation 400 houses in the new housing estate at Ballymun; when the houses were due to be handed over; the number of houses which have been handed over; and when the remaining houses will be handed over.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ballymun Houses.
20.
As the Corporation are aware, the contractors' construction programme provides for the completion this year of the 400 two-storey houses in the project, with the exception of 8 houses on the site of the temporary access road to Area A. One hundred and twelve of these houses are occupied and the remainder are at various stages of completion. Members of the Corporation who recently visited the project site familiarised themselves with the present stage of progress and with the factors such as convenience of access to the dispersed housing areas which determine the timing of occupancy. There is no reason to anticipate delay on the contractors' part in meeting their scheduled programme.
I am not too sure when the Minister obtained this information about the operations. I inquired on last Tuesday morning and I was told that there is no possibility of the extra 288 houses—the Minister mentions 400 — being handed over before the end of this year and that, in fact, there has been no hand-over of houses in the Ballymun scheme since last August.
I mentioned a total of 400; I also mentioned 112 which are occupied and, 112 from 400, leaves 288.
When does the Minister anticipate they will be handed over?
There are 104 ready for handing over, and two blocks of flats.
I went on to explain that the timing of the occupancy has to be determined by the question of convenience of access to the dispersed housing areas; that this is a large scheme in progress all the time and that the question of safe and convenient access to houses is something which affects the actual allocation of tenancies of the houses, even when they are completed.
In fact, the Minister is saying they will not be handed over before the end of the year.
I am not saying any such thing. There is no reason to expect that the contractors will not be able to adhere to their programme.
It is a pity that the Minister did not have the bad weather as an excuse.
21.
asked the Minister for Local Government when he anticipates that the first of the flats in the new Ballymun housing estate will be handed over to the Dublin Corporation for letting; and the intended frequency and numbers of subsequent hand overs.
The contractors' programme provides for the structural completion of more than 700 flats in 1966-67 and more than 1,000 in 1967-68. The flats which are already completed and those to be completed in future, will be handed over for occupation according as the safety and convenience of incoming tenants to the estate so permits. It is expected that some 300 flats will accordingly be ready for occupation this year and more than 1,100 next year, the entire programme to be completed in accordance with the terms of the contract.