Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 17 Jun 2003

Vol. 568 No. 5

Written Answers. - Affordable Housing.

Michael D. Higgins

Ceist:

84 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if his Department is considering proposals to sell off lands owned by Government Departments or State agencies in order to meet the commitment to build 10,000 affordable houses; the way in which it is proposed that this scheme will work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16505/03]

Michael D. Higgins

Ceist:

89 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the progress made to date with regard to the details of the agreement reached with the trades unions and employer organisations regarding the building of 10,000 affordable houses; when the scheme will commence; the timespan within which the 10,000 houses will be built; the organisations by which they will be built; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16504/03]

Eamon Ryan

Ceist:

96 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government his proposals to make available State land at discounted cost to developers for the provision of affordable housing. [16637/03]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. N. Ahern)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 89 and 96 together.

The affordable housing initiative forms part of the housing and accommodation special initiative under the national partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress. The parties to the pay agreement proposed the new initiative with the objective of increasing the supply of affordable housing by 10,000 units. In response to this proposal, the Government committed to an ambitious scale of delivery of affordable housing coming through this initiative and arrangements under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended.

As provided for in the agreement, we are working with the parties to the pay agreement to develop all aspects of the new initiative. This includes issues such as defining the eligibility criteria to apply to the target group, the appropriate models for delivery and financing arrangements and the question of land acquisition. In this regard, the feasibility of releasing some State lands for use under the initiative, and the possible terms under which this might be done, are also being examined.

On the broader question of the costs of land for housing, the Taoiseach has asked the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution to assess the possibility of placing a cap on the value of development land, including revisiting the recommendations of the Kenny report. In doing this, the committee will have to consider the constitutional and practical issues involved. The Government will give due consideration to any recommendations made by the committee, including any recommendations for change to the Constitution.

Discussions on the Sustaining Progress affordable housing initiative will continue with the relevant social partners to ensure that the necessary actions are taken before the end of the agreement to secure achievement of this objective, with measurable progress to be made by the mid-term review in 2004.

It is a key principle underpinning the development of this initiative, that it should not impact on the Exchequer or general Government finances and the examination at this stage is necessarily concerned with identifying appropriate mechanisms to ensure this. Furthermore, it is intended that the initiative will not detract from the funding available for existing social and affordable housing programs, nor should it impact on the continuing efforts to maintain overall housing supply.

I welcome this initiative as another means of bringing more affordable housing on stream. We must work to ensure that the output from all affordable housing schemes is maximised and to continue measures to maintain the overall supply of new houses.