The Government has committed to an ambitious scale of delivery of affordable housing coming through the new affordable housing initiative under Sustaining Progress and through existing affordable housing schemes. The announcement in July this year of the proposed release of Department of Defence lands at Magee Barracks, Kildare and Gormanston, County Meath, as well as a number of sites in the administration of the Office of Public Works, was a critical first step in ensuring early delivery of affordable housing under this initiative which is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.