Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I refer to the Taoiseach's address to the congress in Belfast. Will he say something more about the new affordable homes partnership agency? Is it in place? If not, when will it be put in place? Of how many people will the agency comprise? Mr. Des Geraghty has agreed to act as chairman. What other kinds of people will be on the agency? Will the powers be vested in them to gift lands to developers in return for housing elsewhere? Has the Taoiseach any concerns as to whether there is a value for money question to be addressed regarding, say, an immensely valuable site such as Harcourt Street? How do we, as taxpayers, know that we are getting value for money? If we take Harcourt Street as an example, is everything tied up and are the "i's" dotted and the "t's" crossed in terms of what exactly is the quid pro quo for the swap, the alternative locations the developer who will benefit from getting Harcourt Street is offering, how many units can be put on them, etc.?

Has the Taoiseach any concerns about inner city regeneration and building, in the sense that it seems what we are encouraging here is the construction of more office blocks? The people working in those office blocks will be put out in the commuter belt and they will have to commute to the office blocks in the city and so on. I know there has been unconscionable delay. The then Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, tried to address some of these issues when he held that office. Is the plan well thought out to gift these valuable sites to developers in return for housing elsewhere, with all the implications for city living that are involved?

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