Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 39: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to reform housing and local government legislation in order to provide more Part V social and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28886/07]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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A review of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, undertaken by my Department in 2002 in consultation with a wide range of interested bodies including local authorities and representatives of the house building industry, professional institutes and voluntary housing providers, concluded that greater flexibility in the operation of the Part V mechanism was required. Measures to achieve this were contained in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2002, which introduced a range of flexible options for compliance with Part V.

I am satisfied that the approach adopted has had a positive impact on the operation of Part V arrangements. From a position where just 46 homes were delivered under Part V in 2002, delivery has increased significantly since then, with close to 2,200 social and affordable homes coming on stream under the Part V mechanism in 2006. In total, up to the end of June 2007, over 5,300 social and affordable houses had been acquired and in excess of 5,000 units were in progress at that stage on foot of Part V agreements with developers.

I am satisfied that the Part V mechanism is operating effectively, evidenced by its significantly increased delivery of both social and affordable housing. While I have no plans to amend the legislation, I will continue to monitor closely the workings of the Part V mechanism to ensure they continue to meet the needs of the target groups for which they are designed.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I cannot understand the reason the Minister of State can be happy with the output under the Part V mechanism of the social and affordable housing scheme when 90,000 houses were built in 2006, 20% of that is 18,000 and the Minister got 2,400. First, why are we only getting slightly in excess of 2,000 houses under the Part V mechanism when we should be getting much more based on the number of houses built? Second, how much money has been collected by each local authority and what are they doing with it?

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased the Deputy asked me about the number of houses and the 20% because there has been misrepresentation of the facts regarding the 20%. One must understand that it does not apply to a development of under five houses, a development on lands of 0.1 hectare or to housing on land not zoned for development purposes. Voluntary housing bodies are excluded and there are some ten year planning permissions in force where the Part V delivery did not account for it. If there is delivery of, say, 75,000 housing units in 2007, 25,000 of those will be one-off housing and 10,000 will be made up of social and affordable housing. There is also the voluntary aspect and other issues involved. It is important to state that the type of figures that have been bandied about are not inaccurate and the progress to date has been significant. Does the Deputy want me to answer the question on the amount of money collected?

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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As of June 2007, €73.5 million was collected and is in the coffers of the local authorities. In many instances the developer may propose to give money but the final decision is that of the local authority. Local authorities can give sanction. A preferred option for us is that they would get completed units; that is important. In fact, the overall acquisition of completed units represents 85% of the total number of affordable houses, which is a significant figure. In terms of the money that is now with the local authorities——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I want to fit in a supplementary if I can.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I want to give the Deputy a comprehensive answer. In terms of the money that is with local authorities, I have asked all local authorities for a report as of the end of 2006 on what happened with that money because they can use it to purchase and subvent affordable houses. They can use it to purchase land to develop social and affordable houses. I intend to monitor that. I have requested a report for 2006 and will request a further one in 2007 but I am satisfied that in 2007——

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Thank you, Minister. I will take a brief supplementary from Deputy Hogan.

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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——real progress is being made.

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for indicating he will ask the local authorities for explanations about all of the money in their funds because the low level of output is surprising. Has the Minister done any calculations on what is likely to be the rollout of affordable housing nationally in 2007 and 2008?

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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A total of 3,216 affordable homes were produced in 2006. That was 20% up on 2005. Delivery in the first six months of 2007 was 5% up on 2006. A full year target has been set for the delivery of 5,000 homes in 2007, and we have a target of 17,000 for the period 2007-09. That is a high target but we are satisfied we can reach the target set out for us over those three years.