Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not necessarily disagree with the Deputy that we should have acted sooner. We all should have done many things before we reached this point. I must admit delivery was extremely slow in the early stages of this process, given the mechanism for delivery of social housing was novel to all parties concerned. Such novelty was accompanied by the added complexity of getting agreement from multiple parties operating within an environment subject to a range of legal and financial constraints. Against this backdrop, it is fair to state that significant progress has been made. I am satisfied that the social housing potential of the approximately 4,000 units that are no longer under consideration has been explored in depth. Many of these units were in areas of low demand while in areas where demand is high, such as Dublin, the list of units has been reviewed with units reconsidered when circumstances change. There will continue to be active, ongoing engagement between NAMA and local authorities in respect of those units that remain under consideration for social housing.

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