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

I thank the Senator for his focus on this site, and I thank the others involved as well. To be fair, it is an issue Deputy Bailey raises on a weekly basis with both our housing delivery team, under Mary Hurley's guidance, and our planning section. The two sections of the Department are very much focused on this site and I have had engagement there as well because we want to see it happen. I cannot give the Senator the exact date that a JCB will go onto that site. However, I see absolutely no reason it would possibly take until 2022. I have made it very clear on many occasions that infrastructural issues can be solved in parallel with the construction of houses on sites, and that is where we have to focus. This is a local authority controlled site and I cannot dictate the start date. All I can say is that we will fully support the local authority, whatever scheme it chooses to use. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has one project that we like and it is involved in many others as well. It is a pressure area and there are opportunities there. This is a key site and, as a Department, we are fully ready across a range of measures to make it happen, the sooner, the better.