Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I disagree with the Deputy that the unions would have taken a separate view because the initiative was that the Government would provide up to 10,000 sites for affordable housing. Nobody involved in social partnership believed they would provide and build the houses and get it all finished. As we know it takes a developer, who owns the land, almost six years from start to finish. So nobody would have taken that view. It is expected that on specific affordable housing initiative sites and those provided through Part V — they were always taken together — 1,300 affordable housing units would be completed this year. The target set in the Sustaining Progress affordable housing initiative was to further enhance the supply of affordable housing with the objective of increasing the supply, such as the 10,000 units. That has happened, as I reported in February. Over 70 projects on State or local authority lands are planned, which together with the projected 2,500 houses under Part V of the Planning and Development Act gives over 10,000 housing units.

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