Joe Walsh (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this issue and I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to reply to it and for his courtesy in bringing me up to date on this important project.

In 2003, Teagasc made available 15 hectares of land, approximately 38 acres, to Cork County Council to allow it build a housing scheme for the benefit of people in the affordable housing category. People in the west Cork area, in particular in the Clonakilty region, were very happy with this because they saw the opportunity of being able to afford a house of their own. Commercial housing in west Cork is prohibitively expensive. A site, for example, costs anything up to €250,000 and an ordinary three or four-bedroomed house costs from €500,000 to €750,000. If a house overlooks the sea, it costs in the region of €1 million. Young people cannot afford this kind of money. Even two people with relatively good public service jobs could not afford that kind of mortgage.

One might well ask what has happened with this gift to the council. Two years later, it seems that relatively little has happened. People, including myself, are extremely frustrated with the lack of progress. Clonakilty is a thriving town which has a superb business and technology park that employs approximately 450 people and is projected to employ 1,000. However, there is a shortage of affordable houses in the area.

Will the Minister inform me of the position on this scheme? The affordable housing scheme is attractive and inspired and I laud it. I am delighted all the social partners support it. Why is there lethargy in regard to this extremely laudable project and why is there such procrastination in its regard? I want the Minister of State to inculcate a sense of urgency with regard to this project. Will he take a personal interest in the matter?

With regard to the actual housing scheme, I ask that some flair and creativity be put into the project. We want a nice rural village in this location, a place called Darrara out by Ring village and about three miles from Clonakilty town. It would be nice to have some green areas and some playing pitches etc. We do not want intensive housing or high density old Ballymun-type development in the heart of what is a beautiful rural area. There is already a school and a church in the village, so it lends itself to a suitable village type proposal.

Will the Minister of State provide an update on this project and a timescale for the commencement and completion of work so that young people eligible for this category of housing can aspire to have their own homes, at least some time before the end of this decade. Judging by the rate of progress so far, we do not know when we will see the development of the project. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's up to date report on the matter.

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Walsh for raising this matter. As he knows, the affordable housing initiative was one of the ten special initiatives in Sustaining Progress. The Government is committed to delivery of affordable housing under this initiative. No doubt, the House is aware that progress is being made on the initiative and Part V affordable units are an important contribution to it. Approximately 70 projects on State or local authority lands are planned. It is projected that these projects, together with some 2,500 affordable units under Part V, will deliver 10,000 units.

As Deputy Walsh said, in December 2003 a site at Darrara agricultural college in Clonakilty was proposed by him as Minister for Agriculture and Food and agreed by Government for inclusion in the initiative. As Minister of State with responsibility for housing I acknowledge this and the other sites put forward by him as Minister. The number of housing units to be provided on this site, which is approximately 15 hectares, will be dependent on feasibility and other studies and the planning process.

As the Deputy is aware, the State lands made available for the initiative are transferred to the relevant local authority which is responsible for developing and progressing the projects. This is how matters are dealt with outside of Dublin. Within Dublin, the affordable homes partnership has responsibility. In this case, it is up to Cork County Council to plan and develop the project in a sustainable manner. The council has established an in-house technical group to progress the project.

There has been some progress on the site since it was released to the initiative. A comprehensive feasibility assessment on the site was carried out in the context of strategic land use planning, financial viability, affordability and suitable infrastructural solutions. The feasibility study was approved by Cork County Council on 30 September 2005. Following this, public consultation took place in October 2005, culminating in a council decision to initiate the process to amend the local area plan in order to facilitate the construction of the affordable housing units.

I understand the consultant planners engaged by Cork County Council have been preparing the necessary documentation to advertise the amendment of the local area plan. This will now be examined by Cork County Council and the intention is to advertise the amendment of the local area plan after Christmas. Commencement of construction on this site now depends on the outcome of the planning process.

I understand and share Deputy Walsh's frustrations with the delay. I get complaints in this regard about all the sites offered under this initiative. Developers constantly remind us that from the time they put their eye on a site, it can take up to four years before work can commence. The planning process is frustratingly slow and detailed. I understand that while this site is a couple of miles outside of Clonakilty, the county council has gone about the issue in a professional way, although this may appear slow. I hope when the amendment to the plan is advertised early in the new year rapid progress will result and the changes to the plan will go through without local objections.