Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The entire housing section in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government deals with housing, but it is mainly the affordable parts of it that are discussed by the cross-departmental team. There is a range of affordable housing mechanisms, the shared ownership scheme, the 1999 affordable housing scheme, Part V and the State-local authority lands element and the affordable housing initiative. The reports suggest they are making significant progress in assisting people to achieve their goal of home ownership. In the last report that covered the period from January 2003, almost 8,500 affordable homes had been delivered, which is totally separate from the local authorities or the social housing scheme programme. For this year, the latest information suggests that delivery of some 3,000 homes will be achieved. This does not take account of initiatives by the local authorities such as the tenant purchase scheme. That scheme alone will probably bring in approximately 1,700 homes.

In Towards 2016, we have set a target of delivering some 17,000 affordable houses in the period from January next over three years. That is ambitious, but the increasing yield from Part V, which is now yielding because the planning permissions have gone through the system, and from the State and local authority lands element of the affordable housing initiative will make a significant contribution towards meeting the target. The establishment of the affordable homes partnership, which recently gave a report to the committee, is making an important contribution to the greater Dublin area. Particularly important for the operation of the partnerships are land exchanges and a "call for lands" process, which they have launched. They have studied the NESC report, but I will bring the Deputy's comments to them.

Taken together, the total Part V yield to date from finished units, land and individual sites is the equivalent of some 4,000 homes. In addition, up to the end of June, some €38m in cash settlements had been received by the local authorities under Part V. While some characterise the cash option as the developers buying their way out, the officials concerned say that is not what is happening. Completed homes, land and sites account for the vast majority of Part V agreements.

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