Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has raised this issue on a number of occasions. The sunset clause in respect of the pre-existing 10% social requirement for land purchased from September 2015 to August 2021 arose from a recommendation of the Housing Agency's review of Part V. The reason provided was that it would maintain near-term supply of all types of housing. The review was mindful of the delay that would attach if development plans had to be reviewed. In addition, increasing the percentage could make developments unviable where the original financial appraisal was based on the 10% contribution. Our Department is open to looking at advance purchase arrangements for new developments. The 10% threshold was already there. There is flexibility through the advance purchase arrangements but we had to provide certainty. The critical thing was that we had to ensure delivery of housing in the near term.

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