Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Both Dublin City Council and the local community need the Government to get more directly involved to resolve this dispute. There is approximately €80 million of public funds earmarked for infrastructure in the strategic development zone. Of that, €15 million is from the Minister's own Department, which is co-funding the bridge to complete the south docks. There is up to €20 million in funding from the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, URDF, allocated to the Seán Moore bridge and roundabout. The Minster is absolutely right that we could use the serviced sites fund. We recently had news that the unit cost of that could be increased so that could be €30 to €60 million. That gives the Minister's Government a lot of leverage to sit down with Dublin City Council and the local community to ensure the offer made by Ronan Group Real Estate is a genuine one. That is a significant discount that could be got on those homes. Equally, NAMA's 20% land holdings could be transferred to Dublin City Council as, for example, an advance payment on the dividend it will eventually provide for the State, cutting out the land cost completely.

If the Minister, along with his ministerial colleagues, Deputies Paschal Donohoe and Darragh O'Brien, put their shoulders to the wheel alongside Dublin City Council officials, councillors and the local community, we could ensure that not only would those homes be delivered speedily but we would also have affordable homes at prices local people can afford.

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