Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State. The matter I am raising falls under the responsibility of his Department and I know he is aware of the issue, which is the future of the O'Devaney Gardens regeneration project. This is one of the large-scale regeneration projects located across Dublin. It is in central Dublin and was one of the lead public-private partnership projects that suffered enormous damage because of the difficulties experienced by a number of high profile builders approximately six to nine months ago. As a result of the difficulty Dublin City Council, which is the lead authority for the area, needed to take the plan back to the drawing board and develop a new plan based on the reality of the state of the property market and the economy in general. It is now in the final stages of putting that new master plan together. I believe the Minister of State has visited the area. Even a brief visit reveals how desperately this community needs support and deserves a regeneration project to allow them to live in a safe and secure environment that can give them a decent quality of life. Some of the experiences people there have are appalling. The only way to turn it around for a good community full of decent people is through a regeneration project that gives them a decent standard of life and a decent place in which to live. I have raised the matter previously with the Minister of State and will not dwell on it much longer. Once this phase of the regeneration plan is completed and once the council and the community come up with a plan for the future which reflects the times in which we now find ourselves, will the Department have the money to fund it?

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Donohoe for raising this important issue. The Government's commitment to social housing supports the development of sustainable communities in existing local authority estates through various improvement and regeneration initiatives. Regeneration is focused on addressing social, educational and economic disadvantage experienced in some of the most challenging areas of the country.

My Department supports an ambitious regeneration programme for which Exchequer funding of €190 million was allocated in 2009 alone, with projects ongoing in Dublin and other cities and towns throughout the State. The scope of the projects varies significantly, depending on the size of the estates involved and the particular challenges of the areas concerned. Regardless of scale, each project addresses not just the physical improvements to the estate but also facilitates vital social inclusion measures.

In regard to the regeneration programme for O'Devaney Gardens, Dublin City Council is engaged in a process to decide the most appropriate type of regeneration proposal for the area and how the project should now be delivered. I understand work has been under way in 2009 on the council's December 2008 master plan document. The first phase of the project will be lodged as a planning application to An Bord Pleanála in accordance with section 175 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. An environmental impact statement will accompany the phase one submission and will assess that proposal and the cumulative impact of the overall master plan. Work has commenced on the environmental impact plan and the environmental assessment of the master plan

A scoping report will be submitted by the council to An Bord Pleanála in December 2009 in accordance with section 117 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. Feedback from An Bord Pleanála is valuable at this stage of the project as it will allow any concerns to be addressed before an application is lodged. The council is beginning a series of local area consultations from this evening to keep the on-site and adjoining residential community updated and to ascertain their views. This consultation work is valuable to ensure the planning application, when lodged, can take appropriate account of significant issues raised by the residents and local community. Dublin City Council is committed to this consultation process and will continue it at key milestones in the project.

A series of briefings and consultations with all relevant stakeholders and Departments, including my Department, will be arranged shortly by Dublin City Council to show progress and the emerging plans for the site. It will then be a matter for the council to prioritise the project in the context of its future social housing investment programme and to submit a formal proposal in the usual way to the Department for project approval and funding from within future annual funding allocations. My Department continues actively to support the council in delivering its broad range of housing and regeneration programmes.

It was a source of regret to us all that the original public private partnership proposal for O'Devaney Gardens did not proceed. When I visited the community I was encouraged by the outlook of the residents, many of whom are living in unacceptable conditions. I assure the Senator that I will afford this project priority within the Department's budget once it is submitted as a priority project by Dublin City Council.

Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response and for his concluding comment.