Maria Bailey (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have some general questions also, in particular on downsizing options. The committee did a substantial report on housing options for older people. We visited a number of sites where downsizing is taking place. I am biased and perhaps not as au faitwith the other three local authorities in Dublin, but Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has been at the forefront of delivering housing options for older people. Not least among these will be the launch on Friday of the final phase of Rochestown Park. Are we failing to maximise the sites we have in towns and villages to enable downsizing, or "right-sizing" as we prefer to call it, because of the infrastructrure that is required to achieve this? Are we looking at State-owned land in these areas to build private housing for older people to right size if they choose to do so? Have any policies been introduced in that area?

I am interested in finding out who is involved in the programme office team in Fingal County Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Are further resources needed or are there barriers in that area? While the representatives of Fingal and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county councils referred to their teams in their opening statements, I would like to hear from all four local authorities what teams they have in place to deliver their housing programmes.

When in quarter 1 was the design team appointed in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council? We need to know when nine months will have elapsed.

I share Deputy Boyd Barrett's frustration about the Shanganagh site, which has been mentioned countless times in this committee. I differ with him on the proportions for social and affordable housing but that is for the local authority and councillors to decide. It is not for members to get into such detail here. However, I recognise the complexities around it, notwithstanding that it is frustrating. What additional resources may be needed to progress the development more speedily? Were there areas that could have been addressed by the Government side to deliver it faster, notwithstanding the two tranches of LIHAF funding that have been allocated?

I welcome that Cork County Council identified all the private or semi-State lands available in the city. How proactive are the local authorities in dealing with approved housing bodies? We have heard from AHBs that they have contacted various local authorities, not just in Dublin, and have been told that particular sites have already been identified for housing. I have looked at some of those and I did not see any schemes for those sites. What is causing confusion in that respect?

While I know cost rental is a fairly new initiative, have any of the local authorities represented here today identified sites for cost rental apart from Enniskerry, which has been in train for a long time and has now finally been signed?

I commend the local authorities on developing smaller sites, often more complex and more difficult sites to deal with, where they are trying to maximise with eight, ten, 20 or 50 units. The local authorities have targeted those first because of the potentially quicker turnaround. Some local authorities have not been able to do that. What are the main barriers to doing that?

Do the witnesses feel we are getting the maximum from the sites we have? Some sites around Dublin have apartment blocks all around them and yet the local authorities are only building two-storey housing or much smaller infill schemes. Why are we not maximising the number of units on those sites? Is it because of sensitivity in the area? Is it because of the money to fund these projects? Are the local authorities going for the smaller amounts to turn them around quicker? Are there other reasons for that or is it just too complex to maximise them at the moment?

The witnesses all said that where they have come in with schemes, funding is not a barrier. We want to tease through the difficulties between local authorities and the Department. We are not on either side. We are just trying to arbitrate and tease through.