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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 3 Mar 1998

Vol. 488 No. 1

Written Answers - Serviced Land Initiative.

Ceist:

206 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will make a statement on the submissions he has received in relation to his announcement establishing a special fund to service additional residential lands; the total number of submissions made to his Department by the January 1998 deadline; the total cost of the submissions; the projected number of houses which will accrue from this initiative; the timescale for implementation; and the discussions, if any, that have taken place between the relevant local authorities and his Department since the deadline date. [5438/98]

Noel Dempsey

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Dempsey)

All local authorities were invited by my Department in December 1997 to submit applications under the Government's serviced land initiative for which £15 million in Exchequer funding is being provided over the three year period commencing in 1998. When local authority contributions are taken into account, an estimated £37.5 million will be spent under the initiative. Applications for funding under the initiative, in respect of some 150 proposed schemes costing over £110 million, have been received from 46 local authorities.

These applications are currently being examined by my Department having regard to criteria such as the demand for housing development, the availability of serviced land and the adequacy of existing or planned capacity in water and sewerage systems to accommodate new development. Apart from general discussions with some local authorities on the terms and conditions of the initiative, there have been no detailed discussions on the schemes submitted.

Pending the examination of the applications referred to above, and the approval of specific schemes by me, I am not in a position to estimate how much additional housing will accrue under the initiative.
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