Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)

I raise the process of approving housing whereby we have to go through voluntary housing agencies, then through the Department of housing and finally through the Department of public expenditure. I am dealing with one project with 217 apartments for which the process started in September last year. It has gone through Clúid, the housing agency, through the Department of housing and is now in the Department of public expenditure. I fully understand Departments have to make sure taxpayers are getting value for money, but can we put a process in place that can expedite approvals for projects like this? This is 217 apartments. It is a project in the Taoiseach's constituency, but a number of other projects in a similar vein have been approved by the Department of housing but then have to go through the Department of public expenditure for final approval. Can we set a process in place that is faster than one that takes from September to June or July? There are challenges as regards meeting timeframes with builders.

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