Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to do that and come back with updates on various projects. I will get a specific update for Senator Humphreys. I am aware that we are all frustrated with the timelines but the Senator will be aware that this is a major project, on which the Department has been proactive from the start in trying to make it happen, along with Dublin City Council and other players. There is a deal to be reached with receivers. It is not always straightforward, and it is complicated from our side as well. It has, however, gone on much longer than anyone would have liked. We will work on that and I will get the Senator a note on that. We can still claw back some of the time and deliver that housing project, but it is not straightforward. The Senator knows this also because he is very much involved in that area. I will get back to him on that.

Reference was made to awarding social housing contracts. We recognise that awarding just on price - which has probably happened in some cases in the past - does not always get the best result. We are trying to change that system. We are looking at trying to award contracts based on the awards programme as well as considering speed of delivery and quality. Price is not the only aspect but the weighting was probably skewed towards pricing over recent years and certainly when budgets were tight. It followed the national procurement policy. The Department is working on a new model that recognises an awards programme and delivery, a process which is common in other contracts. That will deal with some of those issues.

The Senator has not mentioned a specific site but when contracts are awarded to various successful applicants, they go through a rigorous financial assessment. We do not just hand out projects easily. There is, however, often a time delay between the social housing project contract being awarded and the work starting and completion. Much can change in those years. We are looking at changing that system to try to give local authorities more ownership of the contracts so that they can speed everything up a little. We will all agree that social housing projects in the past have taken too long in some cases, and we had to tighten up at every end. We have changed the system to get on-site; much work has happened on the system that used to take two, three or four years to get on-site to start construction. We now have an agreed system, which we worked on with local authorities, the managing bodies and the Department, with everybody recognising that in some cases there was a lot of room for failure and delays. We have changed that system and we now have a target of 59 weeks, which is in line with the commercial sector or the private sector. When one looks out a window and sees a field that is to be built on, from the start with all the processes and procedures, it will take 59 weeks. It is not true that the Department is delaying this process by months. Even a private project can take 14 months. We set a target that is faster than that and which can be achieved. In most cases, we will achieve it. Officials in the Department are working specifically on that. It is not true to constantly say it is red tape or that the Department is causing the delays. The system is there now. Most housing officers, off the record, will tell the Senator that it is not the case that the Department is delaying them. There is also the option to go for single-stage approval process on projects under €2 million, which will be increased to €6 million, and we will see what that measure delivers. It will not be the major success that people think it might be because it is not just about our Department; it is about having the system right to deliver housing projects. The combination of our Department and the local authorities is the best way to do that, and we have full view of those projects. The changes are paying off and we will stick to them as well as we can.

I do not want to delay Senators for too long, but I will go through some of the questions that were asked. Senator Murnane O'Connor raised the issue of AHBs versus local authorities. The only way of clearing this up is to realise that local authorities are central to the delivery of housing. They want to be there and local authority members want to be there. Councillors keep saying that. Local authorities are central to this plan. It is wrong to say they are not back building houses. This year, they will deliver more than 4,000 direct build houses. They are running the system when it comes to leasing, construction or acquisition; they are doing it on the front line. I have stressed on many occasions that we could not do it without them. Rebuilding Ireland is our Department working with local authorities on the front line. The AHBs are a part of that, and this year will contribute more than 1,200 houses. They will deliver approximately one third of the overall target, but they are not the number one player - the local authorities are. Carlow has been successful when it comes to percentages and is one of the highest in the State in the delivery of houses. I ask that the Senator does not tell me that the Government is reannouncing and reannouncing. I have been down there to open many housing projects, which are physically in place. Unlike in the past when people would say "They are not real jobs", these are real houses-----