Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Since this arose yesterday, no further suggestion has been made beyond those which are in the public domain. At this stage, I await a report from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on his assessment of the full situation as best he can gauge it. It is only fair to say that PPP models differ. These projects involved Dublin City Council leveraging the grounds it owned by means of a PPP so that residential social and affordable housing could be built in addition to other mixed developments which would be sold on by the developer to help finance the construction of social and affordable housing to meet the requirements of existing tenants and occupiers. The intention is to bring about regeneration and a greater community spirit not only in terms of residential housing but also by developing other much needed facilities for the area. That model was applied in Fatima Mansions and other successful projects which have been seen to bring a lot of added value and helped to restore and support the communities in these areas.

The Thornton Hall project involves a different PPP model based on the construction of the prison and staged annualised payments thereafter. I have received no indication from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that the project has stalled. We are at an advanced stage of the process, although I understand it has not yet been finalised. An additional purpose of that proposal is to facilitate the development of prison complexes in the inner city which will greatly enhance the quality of life for people living there.

To answer the Deputy's question as best I can, as of today, I am not aware that any further issues have arisen but that will become clearer when the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has an opportunity to assess the situation. The Thornton Hall project involves a different model and is not complete at this stage in respect of the PPP issue. Specific issues arise in respect of the residential aspect, market conditions etc., which are impinging upon the viability of this project as it stands. The issue now for tenants and Dublin City Council is to take the next step by working with the local regeneration boards on determining whether other developers can become interested in completing the project as envisaged and the extent to which traditional procurement of housing by local authorities in those areas can be part of the solution.

In regard to those who may wish to be de-tenanted to live in better conditions pending the development of their areas, I am sure that process can continue. As Deputy Gilmore noted, not all the areas have been de-tenanted and that varies from estate to estate. These are issues which Dublin City Council will consider. I note the council continues to contend this is a priority for it. We are spending just less than €1.5 billion annually on social housing, over €200 million of which has been allocated to Dublin City Council. The council's housing programme contains a multi-annual commitment to housing which is very considerable, and rightly so. We will have to determine what this setback means for the projects and whether they can be reconfigured or if traditional procurement will have to play some part in the rehousing process.

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