Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I would like to fully support amendment No. 2 and to speak to my amendment No. 3, which is broadly trying to do the same thing. This is an important and key element of the Bill and it is where the Opposition is united in trying to ensure that the maximum number of affordable homes are delivered on any site that is being developed by the Land Development Agency.

In his response to me when we were discussing the last group of amendments, the Minister made the claim that Opposition parties, including my own, are opposing housing developments across the city of Dublin. The Minister knows that is not true. We have not opposed a single housing development in planning for housing, particularly social and affordable housing. I can only think of one major housing development that was opposed in a vote in a local authority in Dublin recently and that is Clonburris in my constituency where 8,000 to 11,000 homes were proposed with 2,500 social and affordable homes. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael groups not only voted against that development but when Deputy Higgins was the Fine Gael group leader on the council at the time she appealed it to An Bord Pleanála, delaying it by almost a year. What is good for the goose is good for the gander I suppose.

What we are saying here is that public land should not be used for unaffordable open market priced homes. Therefore, what the Opposition has done in a number of local authorities - and we stand over this - is that we have opposed the transfer of land to private developers. In many cases that land was below market value or for free, where large volumes of the homes on that land will be delivered at prices of €350,000 to €450,000. That is what these amendments are about.

The Minister mentioned Donabate and asked why anybody would vote against that land transfer. No market valuation has been made of the land there. It will go to the developer, if the vote is approved tonight, for about half the market value and 60%, or almost 800 of the homes, will be sold at average prices of €400,000. I do not know how anybody could stand over such an inappropriate use of public land.

What my amendment does is straightforward. Notwithstanding my fundamental opposition to the LDA as a residential developer, if it is to be a residential developer then it should not be building anything other than affordable purchase, affordable rental and social homes. It is interesting, for example, that the councillors on Dublin City Council proposed an alternative and fully public development on Oscar Traynor Road. As I said, Fine Gael councillors abstained on that because somehow they do not support the idea of all homes on that site being affordable. It would be interesting to hear from the Minister whether he intends to support the request from the majority of Dublin City Council councillors to fund that development to allow it to be developed speedily so that every single one of the 800 plus homes on Oscar Traynor Road will be genuinely affordable to purchase or rent, as well as 30% of the homes there being social houses.