Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, has not yet started but when it starts it will certainly not be a subsidy as Deputy Boyd Barrett described it. It is a loan and developers who receive development finance from HBFI will have to repay their loans with interest. Rather than being a subsidy, it will generate a return for taxpayers through cash repayments on the loans and a social return in terms of new housing that perhaps would not otherwise be built.

On the north inner city, Mr. Kieran Mulvey recommended a wide range of actions to advance the social and economic regeneration of the area and the Government is committed to implementing these in full. As recommended, a programme implementation body was established last June comprising representatives of the statutory, community and business sectors. The board is led by Mr. Michael Stone and is being supported in its work by the local programme office established in Sean McDermott Street. The chair of the board reports regularly to an oversight group of senior officials chaired by Mr. Martin Fraser, the Secretary General of my Department. This is to ensure continued strong engagement across all Departments and agencies and to deal with any structural barriers and issues highlighted by the board. I will continue to ensure ministerial oversight and support of this initiative is provided through the Cabinet committee system.

Since its first meeting in June, the board has moved quickly to establish four dedicated subgroups to advance specific measures on the priority areas of crime and drugs, education, training and employment opportunities, services for families and young people and physical improvements. The board implemented a number of proposals across the four priority headings in 2015 at a cost of €2.5 million. This is in addition to the range of local measures implemented in 2016, which were worth approximately €5 million. Further measures will be developed and supported in 2018, with funding of €2.5 million set to be provided through the RAPID programme. To ensure the wider community is involved in the process, the first in a series of community consultation events took place in Larkin community centre on 19 October. We have also confirmed our full commitment to reopening Fitzgibbon Street Garda station following a programme of refurbishment works which is at planning permission.

We are also fully behind the development of a community hub on the Rutland Street school site. This is being overseen by Dublin City Council, which is finalising costs. Examples of other specific projects that have been delivered include new and refurbished sporting facilities; new outreach workers targeting street dealing who have been in place since September last; the appointment by the Department of Employment and Social Protection of a full-time case officer dedicated to securing job opportunities from local employers; a new construction skills course, which has run several times and secured employment for local participants; the development of a local project to tackle the major problem of litter and dumping in the area; continued improvements by Dublin City Council to lighting, roads and hoardings; the award of community grants totalling €123,000 to 40 small local projects; closed circuit television, which is at an advanced stage of approval, to be installed at 13 sites across the north inner city; and a programme of clean-up works under way on local railway bridges and the canal bank in co-operation with Irish Rail.

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