Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

It will be like the wedding feast at Cana. On forthcoming Bills outlined in the legislative programme, which was given to Members, item 24 under the Department for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is the designated land (housing development) Bill. This is to provide for a "use it or lose it" scheme which could be deployed by local authorities on a selective basis to accelerate the development of appropriate land zoned for housing and to address the issue of land options. In the autumn schedule this was indicated to be brought forward in early 2008, however no date has been given for it. Given that the purpose of this Bill is a "use it or lose it" scheme and we have not used it, have we lost it and has the Bill been ditched? If not, when will the Bill come before the House?

Item 25 is the social housing (miscellaneous provisions) Bill, which is to provide a programme of social housing reforms aimed at improving services and their delivery including strengthening local authority powers to deal with anti-social behaviour, expanded paths to home ownership for social housing tenants and to provide for the rental accommodation scheme. This Bill has been indicated to come before the House since 2004 and 2005. It was indicated to come before the House in early 2008 and is now scheduled for mid-2008. There is a long-standing issue relating to the ability of local authority tenants who live in flats to buy their own homes. This right to buy is denied to them. It requires a legislative framework for that to happen and in the ten years that those people have been denied that right, the prices of their properties have grown and interest rates have climbed. Could the legislative framework for this area be brought forward in light of the fact that the Bill has been further delayed?

Given the item raised by my Labour Party colleague, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, on Deputy Martin's pronouncement on a co-location project in Cork South-Central, is the Minister bi-locating on the issue of co-location? He has one position in Cork and another at the Cabinet. Is co-location under review at the Cabinet?

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