Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, is aware that the majority of Dublin city councillors last night voted against the disposal of the Lawrence Lands site to a private developer. Let us be clear: the councillors voted for public housing on public land. The proposal that was put forward by Dublin City Council, DCC, was not acceptable to local councillors. The price of the so-called affordable houses ranged from €325,000 to €380,000. This is completely unacceptable. In what world is that affordable? People in the area are paying enormous rents and are waiting for up to 15 years on the housing list. They cannot afford to wait any longer.

Sinn Féin fought for the development of this site. Local communities want to see this site developed but want to see the right type of housing. It needs to be social, affordable and it needs to be cost rental. We also want to make sure that facilities are provided for the community, such as schools and local services. We have only one chance to get this right and the development needs to deliver for people in dire need of housing. Last night was a signal of the type of housing people in my constituency need and want and the council must deliver that. The Minister of State knows what councillors want to see built on this site. They want public housing on public land. Will he commit to meet them to progress this further?

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for his attendance. As he knows, the funding mechanism for this project is something called the housing land initiative, which predates the formation of this Government. It is wholly inappropriate for delivering good quality public housing on public land. There is an alternative, which the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, can put on the table straight away. He can meet Dublin City Council management and offer the council exactly the same financing it has already received for the St. Michael's Estate, Inchicore. That would be to secure a European Investment Bank loan for approximately 70% of the financing and to provide the serviced sites funds for the remainder, something he was already going to do for the housing land initiative deal with Glenveagh.

The value of using the St. Michael's Estate model is that we can deliver social rental, affordable cost rental and genuinely affordable purchase homes for working families on this site. It is interesting that the Government parties on Dublin City Council last night voted three ways. The Minister of State's own colleagues did the right thing and they voted against a very bad deal and I genuinely welcome that. Fine Gael councillors, because the land initiative was really their policy framework, voted for it. Fianna Fáil voted three ways: some voted for it, some voted against and some abstained.

I will take the liberty to make a point, given that the Minister of State's party leader and one of the three heads of the Government is sitting beside him, and say to Deputy Eamon Ryan that we have a real chance to get this right if the three Government parties come together and work with the majority of councillors on Dublin City Council and put the St. Michael's Estate funding package in place. Then we can very quickly move towards planning permission by DCC next year and be on-site to commence construction of much-needed social, affordable rental and genuinely affordable homes next year. This can be done, and while I know the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, will support the principle of that, we need them to convince their colleagues around the Cabinet table, in both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, to work with the majority of councillors in DCC and do the right thing and get the right kind of deal in Oscar Traynor Road.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank both Deputy Ó Broin and Deputy Mitchell for raising this issue and for putting forward constructive proposals regarding it.

As we are all aware, last night Dublin city councillors voted by 48 votes to 14 not to transfer lands at Oscar Traynor Road as part of a development agreement to deliver 853 homes on the site. That was a democratic decision of the local authority members. If I may, I would like to provide the House with some context on this matter, as I understand it. This site has been vacant since the late 1970s and had long been prioritised for housing development by the council via its housing land initiative, as was mentioned by Deputy Ó Broin, together with sites at O'Devaney Gardens and Emmet Road, Inchicore.

The approach and tenure mix for the delivery of homes on the site had been progressed by the council on the basis of 50% of the homes being private, 30% social and 20% affordable, that is, 428, 253 and 172 homes, respectively. This approach had been agreed by the council's housing strategic policy committee in 2016 and by the full plenary council in January 2017 by 58 votes to four. The council executive confirmed its view to the council members, in advance of its vote last night, that an exhaustive process has been undertaken in recent years and the delivery model, itself agreed by councillors, was considered the most effective way to develop the site, both in terms of mixed tenure and from a financial perspective. The executive outlined the complexity of bringing such a large-scale site to this point given the specific resources and expertise required, which the council does not have on an in-house basis. It also pointed out the substantial legal, planning and, above all, financial risks associated with undertaking a development of this scale.

The council's executive confirmed that, using the leverage afforded by State-owned lands, it proposed entering into a comprehensive development agreement with the preferred bidder. In addition to the value of the land being reflected in the reduced cost of the works, Dublin City Council would have received payment of the sum of €14 million from the developer as part of the public procurement process, with strict conditions around planning and development, including a commitment to facilitate local employment. This money would be invested in the city with a significant portion of it ring-fenced for the Oscar Traynor Road environs.

In deciding not to progress with this proposal, the council executive has suggested that the delivery of homes in Oscar Traynor Road may now be set back for quite some time. There was a comment from Mr. Brendan Kenny reported in today's edition of The Irish Timesthat the delay could perhaps be up to eight years. This would be most regrettable, especially in view of the fact that this area has the highest social housing waiting list in the State. One point on which we can all agree is that given the time spent by the council on progressing this site to date, it is critical that it is developed for housing as soon as possible.

Five months ago, we launched the programme for Government, which includes a range of commitments, including the prioritisation of increased supply of public, social, and affordable homes; to increase the social housing stock by more than 50,000, with an emphasis on new builds; to progress a State-backed affordable home purchase scheme to promote home ownership and; to ensure that local authorities are essential to the delivery of housing.

The Government has since backed these objectives in budget 2021, with €3.3 billion being made available for the delivery of housing programmes. This overall investment will see the social housing needs of over 28,500 households being met in 2021. This includes 12,750 new social homes to be delivered through build, acquisition and leasing programmes. Capital funding of €468 million was specifically provided to cover affordability measures including: a new national affordable purchase shared equity scheme; a new cost-rental equity loan facility to help deliver cost rental homes; and services sites funding.

My Department is working with local authorities, approved housing bodies and other key stakeholders towards the expansion and acceleration of delivery of social and affordable housing. My Department has consistently supported Dublin City Council's efforts to advance proposals, including funding the cost of all the 253 social homes on the site. In addition, at up to €50,000 per home, serviced site funding of up to €8.6 million was made available to the council to help subvent the delivery costs of the more affordable homes. My Department remains ready to support the council to deliver this important strategic site.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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The land initiative was only ever used as a financing mechanism because central government would not give local authorities the funds required to develop sites themselves. It was partly because funding was slashed after the recession of 2008 and then after the recovery because Fine Gael did not want to invest. It makes no sense to allow 50% of the homes on public lands to be sold at unaffordable open-market prices and then allow a developer to extract the full market land value from the affordable homes so that they are priced at between €325,000 and €380,000. Not even the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's economic and evaluation service thinks this is a good way to deliver homes. The report two weeks ago confirmed that the most cost-effective way to deliver public homes is through direct delivery by local authorities.

We all now have an opportunity. The vote has been taken and it is not being reversed. If the Government and Opposition along with councillors of Dublin City Council sit down together to ask how we can get this site up and running as quickly as possible, we can move the project forward. That can only be done if the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage decides to take the reins on this. As he did with St. Michael's Estate, he should guide Dublin City Council to a European Investment Bank loan and provide matching service sites funding.

Dublin City Council does not have the capacity because we have starved it of staff and resources for decades. I know the Green Party agrees with this, notwithstanding the Minister of State's reply. The only way the council will ever get the capacity is if we trust it, fund it and staff it to deliver these projects. In the interests of the community of Coolock and the Oscar Traynor Road, and the city overall, let us treat last night's vote as a wake-up call. Let us get around the table urgently, put the funding mechanism in place and send a clear signal to the housing manager in Dublin City Council that we want Part 8 planning applications for a mixed-use social affordable rental and affordable sale development on Oscar Traynor Road to be progressed next year. Finances will be secured and work should commence on site in 2022 to deliver the best-quality public housing development on public land the citizens of the city deserve.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I reiterate that the advice of the council's executive to council members was that an exhaustive process was undertaken in recent years and the proposed delivery model, which was agreed through Dublin City Council, was considered the most effective way to deliver the site both in terms of mixed tenure and from a financial perspective. Notwithstanding this, I note the decision of the council, which will now, no doubt, take some time to consider its next steps. My Department will endeavour to support the council with any future developments, which is the commitment the Deputy is seeking this evening, with plans that might be under consideration over coming months. Our Department remains willing to explore options and avenues available to work with local authorities, approved housing bodies and other key stakeholders towards social and affordable housing delivery objectives.

I take on board the point the Deputy made in the context of opportunity. We need to seize this opportunity because of the urgency of the housing crisis, and we will do that.