Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2019
53. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the original policy on the land initiative of public lands will be revised in view of the fact that a site (details supplied) has been approved for cost rental and the disposal of the lands is on the Dublin City Council agenda for the October 2019 council meeting. [37701/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra54. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the reason that, in the midst of a housing crisis, Dublin City Council management, under direction from land initiative policy, has allowed the privatisation of 70% of public lands at a location (details supplied) which leaves less public housing on the site than in the 1950s. [37638/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 54 together.
The development of publicly owned lands for housing is a priority for this Government and my Department is working closely with all local authorities to support the development of their sites. Decisions regarding individual developments and tenure mix for new housing on local authority land is, in the first instance, a matter for each local authority, including its elected members.
The sites referred to are two of three significant residential sites being brought forward by Dublin City Council under its Housing Land Initiative (HLI). The HLI's aim is to ensure the delivery of mixed-tenure homes within the City Council area. All sites under the HLI are identified as Strategic Development and Regeneration Areas (SDRA) within the Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022.
Mixed-tenure developments are an important policy objective in Rebuilding Ireland and uphold the principle of sustainable mixed communities, where housing needs are not subject to rigid segregation, based on income levels. They also provide an opportunity to see major sites developed more quickly, and integrated into existing communities and areas.
With regard to the O’Devaney Gardens site, an exhaustive process has been undertaken over many years to allow the Council identify the current delivery model as the most effective to develop the site in a tenure sustainable and financially viable way. The intention is to provide 768 badly needed new homes (an additional 56 social housing homes are being built on the site separately), comprising a tenure mix of 411 private homes, 192 social homes and 165 homes offered for purchase at a discount from market rates of between 30%-40% under the affordable dwelling arrangements. I am informed that while 50% of the built homes will be sold by the developer at market prices, these will account for just 22% of the land.
In relation to the St Michael’s Estate site, this has been selected as a Cost Rental ‘pathfinder’ development. A core objective of Cost Rental is to offer more moderate income households the choice of a more affordable and stable form of rental tenure. Over the longer term, as homes are delivered at scale, it is envisaged that cost rental would have a stabilising effect on the broader private rented market. The current tenure mix proposed by Dublin City Council is 30% social housing and 70% cost rental. While the proposal for the site development has not been brought to a conclusion, it is envisaged that structures will be put in place to ensure the tenure would remain Cost Rental over the longer term.
