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

The concern with St. Michael's Estate is that, while the planning application will go in at the latter end of this year, and that will take time, there will be potential cost increases if the post-planning, pre-construction phase of that development is elongated. In some cases projects of this size can take up to two years to get to construction. I have said before that it would be sensible for the Minister to meet with Opposition spokespeople in advance of planning being granted, not to discuss the planning application but to look at phases 3 and 4 of the four-stage process in order to see if that can be reduced and accelerated to ensure that unnecessary cost inflation is designed out of the project. Otherwise, the rents there will be too high.

As for Poolbeg, I welcome the fact the Minister has been engaging with residents and the council. The difficulty is that the condition of the SDZ is subject to an agreement between the parties. If no agreement can be reached, all bets are off. We know that Ronan Group and Lioncor are quoting an all-in figure of about €640,000 for the development costs. Even if we get €100,000 from the serviced sites fund plus support from the National Transport Authority, NTA, and the Department's own funding, that will not drive affordability. The key is NAMA's 20% interest in the development. Has the Minister engaged with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and NAMA on this? If not, will he give a commitment to do so? I think transferring NAMA's stake to DCC is the key to unlocking affordability. Again, just like with St. Michael's, we would work constructively with the Minister to achieve that end if he were to engage with us on it.

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