Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The social housing public private partnership, PPP, programme is a critical part of the Rebuilding Ireland action programme for housing and homelessness, involving an investment with a capital value of €300 million to deliver 1,500 social housing units in three bundles.

The first bundle, which comprises six PPP sites, is expected to provide over 500 units in the greater Dublin area. Two of the sites are located in the Dublin City Council area, including the one at Scribblestown, which has approximately 74 social houses. It is expected that construction on this bundle will commence next year, following the tender award, with new homes becoming available in 2019.

The PPP programme complements the increased Exchequer-funded capital expenditure which is part of Rebuilding Ireland and allows for more social housing to be built in the context of available State resources. The PPP is part of a range of housing options being used by the Government in order to maximise social housing delivery. It is important to note that the sites being used will remain in local authority ownership and are being provided under licence for the duration of the 25 year PPP contract. Tenants allocated to PPP units will be drawn from the local authority social housing waiting list in accordance with that local authority's allocation scheme. The tenants will be subject to the standard arrangements that apply to other social housing allocations.

The PPP site at Scribblestown was identified and proposed for inclusion in the social housing PPP programme by the Dublin social housing delivery task force and by Dublin City Council, having regard to social housing need and the suitability of the site to be developed for social housing at this location.

The Department's guidelines concerning sustainability and social mix are set out in the 2007 document, Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities. The assessment criteria for the selection of PPP sites, including the site at Scribblestown, reflect these guidelines. While the new homes being developed are all for social housing purposes, sustainability is achieved within the wider framework of development planning for the area. Based on data and analysis from Dublin City Council, the percentage of social housing in the wider Finglas south area, after the Scribblestown development is completed, would be just 27%. The social housing need in the Ashtown, Blackhorse Avenue, Santry, Whitehall, Cabra, Finglas and Glasnevin areas of Dublin City Council is in excess of 4,000 applicants, based on the city council's data. The development at Scribblestown will therefore contribute to delivering much-needed homes for these applicants within their general area.

I am fully committed to and supportive of the development of the site at Scribblestown as part of the PPP programme and welcomed the news that Dublin City Council approved the Part 8 planning process early last week.

The Deputy is right to say that all Departments have a role under Rebuilding Ireland to make sure that any new housing is blended into an area and is well serviced in respect of transport and links to the community and facilities in respect of health and education services. As social housing delivery is the number one priority of the Government all Departments have been involved in the Rebuilding Ireland action plan. They all feed into that. They all have a role in that. I have no problem advocating that the services required to serve this would be developed if need be, if they are not put in place in 2018 and 2019 to service the site and the 74 new homes and families.

In general as a planning authority we try to encourage planning to be done in the correct way, ideally through local area plans which identify all the needs of the area. This site has been picked out and recommended by the local authority, as is its responsibility. It passes all our tests for suitability too. The Deputy is correct to say every Department has a role to play here and I will certainly make sure that message is passed on and that we advocate it across the board.

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