Vol. 558 No. 3
57 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the recent comments made by a person (details supplied) that State agencies are holding back public land in north Dublin that could house up to 30,000 people; if he intends to have discussions with the relevant State agencies with a view to making this land available for housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23857/02]
I am aware of a study undertaken in January 2001 by the person referred to in the question.
This study examined the development potential for some public open space in North Dublin and suggested varying numbers of housing units which could be achieved based on various assumptions in relation to the suitability of such land for housing and viable densities. A more recent study in which the same person participated, referred more generally to this issue in the context of supply of land in Dublin. The latter study referred to the need to identify underutilised land holdings in a broad range of public ownership for housing development purposes.
This process is already under way. In 2000, the Government decided to establish a National Public Property Register, under the aegis of the Department of Finance. The National Public Property Register contains information on lands and buildings in the ownership of Departments and State agencies, including non-commercial State bodies, health boards, local authorities and certain education bodies and provides a basis for the consideration of the appropriate use of these resources.
I might also add that provisional data from the latest annual national inventory of zoned serviced land, which is carried out by my Department, shows that there was about 5,580 acres of zoned serviced land available in Dublin, with an estimated housing yield of 96,700 units in June 2002.
