Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the figures in the quarter 4 report. Regardless of what figures we look at, we see last year's performance on housing was better than any other year for some time. Certainly in terms of public housing, we are back to where we were in previous decades. In my constituency, there are sites off Oscar Traynor Road, Collins Avenue, St. Joseph's Hill, Parkview, Church of the Annunciation and Kildonan, all of which involve public housing on public land. However, where we are struggling is on sites like the Ballymun Shopping Centre site where there is a necessary commercial element and retail must be provided. Dublin City Council has gone out for expressions of interest. Given the changing interest rate market, this has proved challenging and I am not sure the interest that was there last year or the previous year is still there. We need the Land Development Agency to examine this site in partnership with Dublin City Council. We need both retail and housing built on it and we need the same action on the site as we see on many other sites.

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