John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Under the programme for Government and the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Department has encouraged and will fund what are known as turnkey projects. The basis of the project is that 10% of the funding will be delivered upfront and the remainder will be delivered once the project is complete and handed over. I understand that in the Minister's county of Cork, if a developer is willing to hand over land, 30% upfront funding is made available and this makes the development far more bankable and deliverable. I welcome that. I do not have any problem with it. In the context of procurement guidelines, I asked whether different rules apply to different counties.

If so, is that fair and can it be addressed? We cannot have a situation where developers in one county are trying to get something over the line and cannot get the necessary finance for it whereas in other counties they can. I welcome the initiative taken in Cork to allow 30% upfront funding.

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