Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I anticipate that the numbers of such purchasers benefiting from affordable housing will further increase this year as more affordable housing comes on stream as a result of agreements under Part V of the Planning and Development Act.

The new affordable housing initiative introduced under the national partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, is also being progressed as a priority. The Government made two announcements in July and December last year on the release of State and local authority lands in Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Cork and Waterford to the initiative. Both announcements are critical steps in ensuring early delivery of affordable housing on these sites and under the initiative and together with output from Part V will result in about 6,100 additional affordable housing units.

The Taoiseach recently turned the sod on the Finglas Road site making the commencement of the first initiative project and Dublin City Council will soon seek expressions of interest for the development of the sites at the Jamestown and Infirmary Roads. I ask the Deputies not to claim that a block has not yet been laid. One most certainly has been laid because that site on the Finglas Road is under construction.

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