Vol. 401 No. 4
5 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for the Environment if he will take all necessary steps to ensure that residents of Sheriff Street flats, Dublin 1, who wish to be rehoused within the area of Sheriff Street parish are provided housing within the parish area by Dublin Corporation; and if he will make a statement on the present position regarding the funds allocated by him to the corporation for the provision of alternative housing for the residents of Sheriff Street.
16 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for the Environment if he has received the overall plan from Dublin Corporation for the rehousing of tenants from Sheriff Street, Dublin 1; if he will outline his response to the plan passed unanimously by Dublin City Council of 18 June 1990; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 16 together.
On a point of order, and bearing in mind that Question No. 16 is in my name, I should like to ask the Chair if he considers it unfair to take my question with a Priority Question.
This is not the time to intervene. We are dealing with Priority Questions to which a strict time limit applies. We should listen to the Minister's reply.
May I put a point of order to the Chair?
I wish to dissuade Members from raising points of order when we are dealing with Priority Questions for the obvious reason that we are wasting precious time.
I asked the Chair a question and he could, with respect, have answered it by now.
The Deputy cannot raise that question now and he must be aware of that. The Deputy is wasting time. The Deputy may raise his question with me at another time.
I cannot raise the question with the Chair at another time.
Why not?
Because the question will have been answered by the Minister and I will not have had the opportunity to put supplementary questions to him.
There is nothing I can do for the Deputy now.
May I raise the subject matter of the question on the Adjournment?
I will communicate with the Deputy in that regard.
The arrangements for the rehousing of tenants of the Sheriff Street flats complex are primarily matters for Dublin Corporation in their capacity as the housing authority.
The capital allocation for their housing programme notified to Dublin Corporation on 22 February last included £1 million for the rehousing of tenants from the complex. In response, the corporation identified the commencement of work on housing schemes at Oriel Street (25 units) and Portland Row (35 units) and the purchase of ten existing dwellings as the manner in which they proposed to utilise the allocation. These proposals have been approved by my Department. When the decision in regard to the flats was announced in May 1989 the corporation were requested to prepare an outline plan in relation to the rehousing of the tenants. A response in this regard was received in my Department on 26 June 1990 and is being examined. My views on the submission will be conveyed to the corporation as soon as possible.
I should like to ask the Minister to confirm that the Government are adhering to a commitment that those in the Sheriff Street parish area who wished to be rehoused within the parish will be rehoused in that parish. Will the Minister indicate by what date he will indicate to the corporation his Department's view of the plans submitted? I should like to ask the Minister to indicate whether he intends to use the various powers available to him to enable the acquisition of lands to take place within the Sheriff Street parish area so that land can be acquired for the building of houses from bodies such as CIE who have land that is lying unused?
I conveyed to the corporation in May 1989 the decision that the rehousing of tenants should take place to the greatest extent possible in the parish of St. Laurence O'Toole. I also communicated with them on a number of occasions since concerning the plan that eventually arrived on 26 June. I will be responding to that in the not too distant future. I should like to tell the Deputy that the corporation have extensive powers of compulsory acquisition in their own right which they use.
Will the Minister confirm that if the corporation seek to exercise those powers they will receive any sanction they require from him? Will the Minister indicate that the lands will be acquired with the same degree of speed that his Department have shown in seeking to acquire land for the building of a national sports stadium adjacent to Sheriff Street?
The Deputy will be aware that the purchase of sites for housing schemes is a matter for the housing authority. Such purchases do not require ministerial sanction. Site acquisition is only recouped when the tender has been approved for the construction of the housing scheme.
