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

I thank the Deputies for their questions. With regard to the serviced sites fund, the intention is to build on local authority land. That is what we are trying to do but there is wider scope for the serviced sites fund beyond that.

In the case of O'Devaney Gardens, we are using a portion of the land - about 22% - to get all those hundreds of homes built across the site as well as other very important infrastructure. I can go into that in detail when the question submitted is answered later on. The important thing about the Land Development Agency's approach to land is that it is State land in terms of the initial tranche of sites and it is the developer so it is not a question of selling off the land. It is a question of developing it in the best interests of the State.

Progress at St. Michael's Estate is too slow and I am looking for ways to expedite that. Most of the affordable homes in O'Devaney Gardens will be priced at less than €310,000. Regarding a house priced at €310,000, if a person is getting Government help in the form of the help to buy scheme to get the deposit together, that is for people on the mean average industrial wage about which Deputy Joan Collins spoke earlier. We are modelling affordability using positions like clerical officers, teachers or gardaí because we know that when it comes to affordability, while people in these occupations do not qualify for social housing, they are unable to buy a home and that is why they need this help and why it is so important.

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