Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for raising this matter.

Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2004 is fully operational and all relevant residential planning applications are now subject to a Part V agreement. Apart from the provision of housing units to the local authority on-site or off-site, an agreement under Part V may provide for a range of other options. Notwithstanding the availability of these options, my Department's stated preference, which has been communicated to local authorities, is for the provision of housing units, whether on-site or off-site.

Under Part V agreements with developers, a total of 809 affordable housing units and nearly 500 social housing units have been acquired by local authorities up to the end of June. Approximately 1,500 units were in the course of acquisition and approximately 2,500 units were earmarked for acquisition on foot of Part V agreements with developers. In addition, 17 land transfers to local authorities have been completed involving 14 hectares, a further 169 partially or fully-serviced sites have been transferred to local authorities and voluntary housing bodies, and more than €18 million has been received in payments in lieu and under the withering levy. It is clear that there has been activity in all the city and county councils under some of the options available for complying with Part V.

While this is significant progress, this output must be viewed in light of the fact that there are many developments, to which pre-Part V planning permissions apply, still being built. That might be the situation for some time, particularly in the case of some of the large developments for which planning permission has been granted for a ten-year period. Part V does not apply to developments consisting of four or fewer houses, or for housing on land of 0.1 hectares or less or on unzoned land. Unlike the position in Dublin, much of the land surrounding smaller country towns and villages is unzoned. Therefore, the planning permissions granted to the builders of small developments would not include a Part V content because such developments are built on unzoned land. That is the practice and custom in those areas. Accordingly, Part V does not apply to a considerable element of housing output in many counties. However, more and more permissions for residential development with a Part V agreement are commencing and I am confident that output and activity, as indicated previously, is now firmly on a upward spiral.

We envisage that some 6,000 social and affordable units will be delivered under Part V between 2005 and 2007. Additionally, payments in lieu, which are ring-fenced for housing capital purposes only, together with land and sites accruing from the take-up of the alternative options, will further supplement the overall provision of social and affordable housing.

I remind the Senator that Part V is not the sole mechanism for the provision of affordable housing. He referred to the strategies of local authorities. If there is not a need for affordable housing units in a local authority area, that authority should not provide such units, rather it should concentrate on the provision of social housing units. Such an authority might make such affordable housing units super-affordable, so to speak, and offer an incentive to local authority tenants who, if offered a super-affordable housing unit, could become a homeowner rather than a person on the local authority housing list. It is a matter for local authorities to decide that matter.

Since the introduction of the Part V provision, some 4,000 housing units have been provided under the 1999 affordable housing scheme. Furthermore, substantial progress continues to be made under the affordable housing initiative. More than 70 sites have been identified on State or local authority lands. In accordance with Sustaining Progress, these sites and the output from Part V have a potential yield exceeding 10,000 affordable housing units, meeting the target proposed by the parties to the pay agreement.

The various affordable housing schemes are all contributing to the Government's strategy for social and affordable housing and will deliver substantial output over the coming years. We estimate that more than 12,000 units in total will be delivered from all the affordable schemes between this year and 2007.

Part V is now fully operational in all local authorities. However, some further operational issues, for example, direct sales of Part V affordable units by developers to eligible applicants nominated by local authorities and the standardisation of the costs of Part V units, are being considered by officials in conjunction with other interested parties, including the Irish Home Builders Association.

I agree that one hears complaints that there is a delay in a local authority buying units from a developer and a delay in the local authority selling them on to the client. We are examining how that can be streamlined. It is only the local authority which can decide who is eligible for such a housing unit. We are examining the possibility of putting in place a system to break the logjam, whereby a client could obtain a document from the local authority indicating that he or she has been approved in accordance with the criteria laid down and the client could then buy the unit directly.

I am satisfied that Part V is contributing significantly to the provision of social and affordable housing going forward. Its operation is kept under continuous review and this will continue. We have issued detailed guidelines, although there may be some slight difference in their interpretation in terms of how such schemes are operated locally.

The final say as to how the developer pays the dividend, whether in cash or with sites, is for the individual local authority manager. Housing is a very important part of the local authorities' function and we have to give them some power, but within very strict criteria and guidelines. The guidelines are very thorough and detailed. I accept that different managers might see the issue slightly differently and one hears of cases of varied interpretations. However, it is beginning to settle down. Developers who fought against it very strongly now accept that it is the law of the land and it will be a major contributor to social and affordable housing as time goes on. Obviously we are watching the situation closely but we are not considering any overall change to the system at this stage. We are considering some of the ideas from the Irish Home Builders Association regarding direct sales and are examining a number of other teething problems that have arisen.