Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 April 2004
13 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of houses completed as a result of the promise given by him under the programme for Sustaining Progress that 10,000 social and affordable houses would be constructed. [12185/04]
View answer60 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress which has been made to date with regard to the 10,000 houses promised as part of Sustaining Progress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12327/04]
View answer
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 and 60 together.
The affordable housing initiative under the Sustaining Progress partnership agreement is designed to meet the needs of persons currently priced out of the housing market. In response, the Government has committed to an ambitious scale of delivery of affordable housing through this initiative and the provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. In 2003, 88 affordable units were delivered under Part V and last Monday the Taoiseach turned the sod on the site at Finglas Road marking the commencement of the first affordable housing initiative project on State or local authority lands. The project, which consists of more than 150 affordable residential units, senior citizen units, private residential units, a medical centre, a crèche facility and a hotel building, is real evidence that the initiative is being progressed as a priority by the Government.
This project is a significant milestone in delivering the initiative and adds to the considerable progress made so far, one year after signing the Sustaining Progress agreement. First, the identification of sites for the initiative last July and December has been a critical step in ensuring early mobilisation of affordable housing for the initiative. There are now 24 individual projects on the lands identified to date for the initiative. Together with affordable housing coming through Part V arrangements, the sites so far identified have the potential to deliver 6,100 housing units. The fact that these sites are being released by both local authorities and a range of other State authorities indicates the broad commitment at Government level to facilitate the earliest delivery of housing at affordable prices.
Second, working with the parties to the pay agreement, we have developed a delivery model which builds upon the existing expertise of local authorities, while at the same time ensuring that there is no impact on general Government finances, as this is one of the parameters set by the agreement. The housing will, therefore, be delivered through arrangements between local authorities and the private sector. Third, we have agreed, in principle, eligibility criteria with the parties to the pay agreement subject to further discussions on the detail.
The timescale for delivery and the precise number of units to be delivered on each site is being determined in planning the projects. There are 24 projects involved and they vary in terms of key site characteristics such as zoning status and servicing. Allowance must also be factored in for the procurement of specific developers to deliver the projects through competitive tendering and for obtaining planning permission. These processes, while involving a time element, are necessary to ensure the effective delivery of housing and the creation of housing in good quality environments. We will, of course, parallel activities as necessary to ensure early delivery of units.
The contact group on the affordable housing initiative, which is chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach and comprises representatives of my Department, the Department of Finance and the Central Statistics Office, plays an important role in ensuring the effective implementation of the initiative. Its work includes overseeing the effective and early implementation of the projects already identified, addressing any policy issues arising in implementing the initiative within the parameters of the agreement and continuing with the process of identifying State lands for use in the initiative. Furthermore, an implementation team within my Department and project managers at local level are all working to ensure the success of the initiative.
Considerable work has been done to date on the initiative, the fruits of which will emerge during this year and into the future as projects are brought to the market, and further work on implementing the initiative is progressing as a priority. This, I believe, is firm evidence of the Government's determination to make measurable progress in the implementation of the initiative. We will also work to ensure that the output from all affordable housing schemes is maximised while ensuring the continuation of measures to maintain the overall supply of new houses.
