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

I thank the Deputy for his reply. We need to move forward but let us do so honestly without misleading the public about agreements that have not been reached.

The Deputy mentioned an amended agreement but there is no new agreement or documentation. Rather, there is an offer from the developer to sell houses to the local authority at market prices. What a brilliant offer for the developer, for whom we will completely de-risk 80% of the site. The houses are at very near the market price. Unless the local authority councillors have the figures, given that I have not yet seen them, affordable rents cannot be made to work if the houses are bought at those prices. That cannot be the basis for cost rental or affordable rental. That is why the other schemes are in train.

The Deputy commented on the price of the houses. The majority of the houses will be sold for approximately €300,000. A couple starting their careers as a teacher and a nurse, earning €55,000 together, could afford to buy a house at that price. That is what we mean when we talk about affordability. It will happen on the site. The O'Devaney Gardens project will proceed and the land disposal has been agreed on the basis of the 2017 tenure mix. That is what people voted for on the night and it was made clear to them on the night by the housing officer of the local authority. They did not vote for the new agreement. The land disposal was agreed on the basis of the original agreement in place since 2017 and it is now in the hands of the executive, with which I will work to progress the site and to ensure that the funding will be provided. We as a Department have committed to almost €100 million for the site alone to provide social and affordable housing.

As for meeting the councillors, I have no problem meeting a delegation, but first I want to see all the documentation that the new agreement is purported to include, because I do not believe that it exists. I do not believe that a financial document, a legal document, financial backing or an approved housing body is in place, and even if all those aspects were in place, I do not believe that affordable rents could be delivered if the homes were to be bought at those market prices. The councillors need to open their eyes. They believe they have got a better deal but they have not got a deal. They have agreed to the 2017 agreement but, unfortunately, to be able to do that, they had to pretend something new was happening. We are fully committed to O'Devaney Gardens but we are committed to completing the project honestly, without misleading the public as to what is happening.

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