Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. As I said in my initial reply, I called into 11 local authorities, nine came back to me on foot of that call and two did not come back to me. That was a judgment they made. I will publish information on that shortly when I can, once we have fully assessed the different proposals that have come in. The 11 local authorities we targeted are those that we know from data are having a very serious affordability challenge. That is not to say there may not be other local authorities that also have an affordability challenge. A separate information circular will go out to those local authorities in terms of them having to provide an economic assessment that shows there is an affordability squeeze in their areas when we compare it with existing homes being built and what they are being sold at or second homes also. That work is being done across the 31 local authority areas but we have prioritised those 11 local authorities where the affordability challenge is greatest.

An amount of €20 million has been allocated for this year and there will be a drawdown from that fund this year. It probably will not be the full amount and any money that is not drawn down will be moved into other areas of capital expenditure to make sure there is as much delivery as possible, in excess of our targets if possible, this year. Sites were under preparation ahead of that call. The ambition is 4,000 growing to 10,000 and that is before we talk about other aspects of the Land Development Agency, which is the subject of a separate question coming up.

When we look at this now at this point in the year, it is not likely we will see affordable homes under the serviced sites fund being completed this year. Other conversations are ongoing between myself and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform regarding the budget and in that context to see if there are quicker affordability wins that can be made. The Deputy will be aware of those conversations because he has been included in them.

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