Seanad debates
Tuesday, 10 December 2002
Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill, 2002: Second Stage.
Some Members are concerned that a builder or a number of builders could buy 500 or 1,000 acres in the middle of nowhere, give it to the local authority as their 20% provision and then build houses wherever they desire. That will not happen. Those Senators who sit on local authorities are in a position of control in that regard, but I will not allow it to happen in any event. Developments must fit into the social integration and strategy of each local authority. In terms of the delivery of social and affordable housing, we either want to philosophise about and discuss it or we want to do something real and tangible about it. That is the choice with which, as Minister, I was faced.
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