Seán Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

The preferred partnership arrangement that has been in place between Michael McNamara and Company has ended. Both sides have agreed that the second bidder will be approached to see whether it can be brought on board. The other three projects in place at O'Devaney Gardens, Convent Lands, Seán MacDermott Street and Infirmary Road look like they are going to mediation. Having read The Irish Times on Tuesday, however, the assistant manager of Dublin City Council does not appear to have too much faith in the developer in so far as he said that if the mediation does not work he will go directly to the High Court. Hopefully, the mediation will work and those developments in O'Devaney Gardens, Convent Lands and Infirmary Road will continue.

Dublin City Council must re-examine all the options available for advancing these public private partnership projects. In hindsight, we would all agree that it was not the most prudent thing for one developer to be responsible for five projects. The council and the Department need to examine that process to ensure there is a spread of risk not only between the developer and Dublin City Council regarding the private and social and affordable elements of a development, but also the potential for the project to happen in the first place.

I have been in touch with the managers involved in Dublin City Council and am aware of their commitment to progress these projects. There is a big commitment on the part of the council to move forward with the projects that have run into trouble. We must accept there are economic problems for the developer and the council regarding the market for private accommodation. In Fatima Mansions recently the developer took control of a large number of apartments to let because he was unable to sell them to private individuals. There are still a couple of hundred apartments for sale. These problems must be overcome.

There were also questions concerning outside walls, energy configuration and the size of the apartments. Just to nail that, however, Dublin City Council had agreed to accept the costs of the increased size and the energy configuration improvements.

It is a difficult situation and I will work with my colleagues in Dublin South-Central to do all I can to progress these projects. In that way, the people in St. Michael's House and Dominick Street will be housed as soon as possible.

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