Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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Last Saturday I marched with the communities of Sandymount, Ringsend and Irishtown on Pearse Street because of the fear of the loss of social and affordable units within them. Last week there was an announcement that the 40 housing units to be provided in the South Lotts Road area, which is in a strategic development zone, SDZ, were to be provided instead in Rialto. The units were to be part of the community gain from the SDZ covered under Part V of the legislation. Following on from the media coverage of the issue, it was announced by senior officials at Dublin City Council that there would be no social housing in Dublin 2, Dublin 4 or Dublin 6 without a special case being made for it.Another senior official said there would be no affordable housing in Dublin 2, Dublin 4 or Dublin 6. The best they can expect is to build them out in the suburbs. This has led to fears, which I can understand, that the 350 social units promised for the strategic development zone in Poolbeg West will not be delivered, never mind the 550 affordable and affordable rental homes promised by the then Minister, Deputy Coveney.

The deposits have been paid on the sites in the strategic development zone, SDZ, in Poolbeg West and on the Poolbeg Peninsula. Some €30 million has been set aside for a bridge over the River Dodder to give access to the Poolbeg West development site. The taxpayers paid for the decontamination of the site and there is a blank cheque from the Department for the plinth that has to be put in place but which is, so far, uncosted.

It is unacceptable for senior city council officials to say there will be no social or affordable housing in these areas and to be left unchallenged by the Department. The previous Minister, Deputy Coveney, gave a firm commitment to the delivery of 900 units and this is written into the strategic development zone plan that is before An Bord Pleanála at the moment. Fine Gael has been saying that the housing crisis can only be solved by delivery but we know there is a strong lobby for going higher. I do not necessarily have a problem with height or density but there are three strategic development zones in the Docklands - the North Lotts, the South Lotts and Poolbeg West. There is speculation that building on the North Lotts will go higher. The Minister needs to take note of the fact that strategic development zones have clear objectives and integrated planning schemes. If one goes higher in one location one has to do the same for all developments in that location and if one increases commercial development, one also has to increase residential, and vice versa. With the height strategy outlined by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, the Government is running the risk of undermining the three strategic development zones. The outcome will be that over 5,000 units in this city will be delayed.

I am not sure if the Government has the competence to manage this issue. All I see in the attempts to increase the supply of housing is mistake after mistake. There have been three delays in supply, all caused by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. These were the change in apartment sizes, the change in car parking spaces and the change relating to the height strategy. All led to further planning applications, even though developments of over 100 units can go straight to An Bord Pleanála. There has been delay after delay with applications being withdrawn.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I will try to deal with the question that was asked, as well as the ten other questions that were added in during the Senator's contribution.

Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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They are related issues.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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My role regarding Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is to provide the policy and legislative framework, while the day-to-day administration and operation of Part V are a matter for the local authorities. Senator Humphreys will, no doubt, be aware that following an independent review of Part V, completed in 2014, which included a detailed and lengthy consultation process and which took into account the general housing market trends at that time, the requirement was reduced from 20% to 10%, effective from 1 September 2015.My Department subsequently issued statutory guidelines to local authorities on the amended Part V rules. These guidelines recommended that the acquisition of units on the development site be the preferred option for local authorities. However, each local authority must make sure its Part V agreements constitute the best use of financial resources available and that unit sizes meet social housing requirements.

My Department considers all requests from local authorities for sanction for funding of the acquisition of units under Part V in light of construction costs in the area, and also one of the key aims of Part V, the general social integration, which is a very important one.

Senators will know that Part V is just one constituent part of the significant efforts being made by this Government to deliver the social housing supports that Ireland needs in the coming years. These efforts are backed up by an unprecedented level of investment under the Rebuilding Ireland action plan. More than €6 billion of taxpayers' money will be spent during the lifetime of that plan delivering in excess of 50,000 social housing homes, as well as many more supports through the private rental market. Part V homes are expected to deliver just under 5,000 of the overall total and as the construction sector recovers and delivery increases, so too does our dividend in terms of Part V. It is encouraging to see their numbers increase year on year because they not only deliver additional stock but make a vital contribution, as I mentioned, in terms of promoting social integration and developing more positive sustainable communities - a benefit to all of Irish society. I know Senator Humphreys agrees with that. That is probably part of what the debate on this Commencement matter is about, namely, to ensure that we still achieve that.

We are very much about delivering the social housing we need as a nation. We are also very well aware of the need to build those sustainable mixed tenure communities all over Ireland. In general, this approach works well across the country. Unfortunately there are occasions when our two key objectives of increased delivery and social integration can come into some conflict. When this happens we must be pragmatic, constructive and seek to strike the right balance. Such a scenario tends to happen in what might be termed more "high-end" developments.

As to areas such as the Dublin Docklands, all options for the delivery of Part V homes are explored, including the most cost-effective way of delivering much-needed social housing units in these specific electoral areas. Alternatives can, if required, be explored, particularly off-site development nearby which delivers more homes for the same price. In other words, there is the option in some scenarios for some land swaps or for some land to be given in terms of housing. My Department is committed to working with the council to help find that balance and to deliver solutions that increase our social housing stock in the places where they are needed but at a price that is acceptable to the Exchequer. That is a decision that has to be made locally as we tease through the different sites.

On the Deputy's attempt to suggest that changes we have made with respect to apartments sizes, car parking spaces, and height strategy are delaying matters, we have to make necessary changes to effect the overall supply of housing now and well into the future. We have the Rebuilding Ireland document, which is a strategy for social housing and housing in general. We are reaching all the targets set in terms of what we want to deliver, both in the private sector and the public sector. We are bang on target right across the board. The Central Statistics Office figures confirmed that last week.

Furthermore, the changes we have made might in some cases on different sites generate new applications, but it has been confirmed that the overall supply of housing is up by 25%. Commencement notices are up by more than 50%. With respect to some sites, there will be chop and change but the overall delivery is up and the trend is positive.

We believe the changes we have made regarding the height strategy, car parking spaces and so on will increase the supply and mix of housing coming onstream which we badly need. Those are changes that were probably put off for many years by previous Governments but we have made them now and I have no doubt they will effect supply in a positive way in the future. One can select one or two sites and argue over them but we have had to make decisions in the round to increase the supply of housing well into the future.

Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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The Minister of State clearly knows what I have said to him. Council officials have probably blown the whistle on him if they are saying there will be no social or affordable housing in the areas of Dublin 2, 4 and 6. They are already implementing that policy. The Minister of State mentioned provision in an off-site development nearby. That is not what happened in the South Lotts strategic development zone. The units are being provided in Rialto, a different housing area, more than 3 km away. Therefore, the Minister of State, with respect to any of the answers he has given, has not satisfied my concerns. He has confirmed that the community's fears in this respect are real. The 350 social units on the Poolbeg West site are now in danger. The Minister of State's commitment to the 550 social and affordable units is now questionable.

I have asked the Minister of State for clear answers but he has not given any. He has avoided a straight answer. I will give him a clear warning. If there are changes in the strategic development zones, that may very well undermine all the strategic development zones not only in Dublin but across the country and cause a further worsening of the housing crisis.The Minister of State and the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, are in charge of housing and have a responsibility to deliver on the objectives of the SDZ, but they are not doing so. They have allowed the officials in Dublin City Council to choose not a nearby off-site location but a distant off-site location. This is not acceptable to the communities of Ringsend, Irishtown and Pearse Street and the Government must pull its socks up and start to deliver on the objectives of the SDZ and under Part V which clearly states there can be an off-site allocation but that it must be nearby. That is not happening in the city and it is not the intention of the Department's officials for it to happen in the city. The Government needs to wake up and smell the roses.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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On the Dublin docklands and Part V, the cost of purchasing units in the docklands area can often far exceed the cost ceilings we try to maintain. In some cases, land and development costs are extremely high, the units have a high specification or there are high management fees for services such a a concierge, gyms and so on beyond what the Department generally funds through the local authorities. In some cases, the purchase would not be deemed to be value for money, leading the city council to determine that off-site provision be considered to comply with Part V. For example, it determined that on-site affordability was not possible at the Capital Dock development and procured the Part V units off-site in Rialto.

Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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Rialto is not nearby.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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There is another development under consideration by the city council, namely, the Landings as part of Project Wave, which will deliver 30 units on-site. The cost of these units will also be high, at more than €400,000 per unit, but the council considers them to be good value for money compared to the estimated cost of sourcing and possibly upgrading on-site units. While the Department has asked the council to consider alternative options for the delivery of the Part V portion of the development, the council is preparing a submission to the Department which will restate the suitability and affordability of the on-site units. The council is, therefore, making a case.

I stress that in the case of Part V projects and certain areas of high pressure, site by site decisions must be made in conjunction with the local authorities and the Department. Dublin City Council has eight active developments in the docklands area to which Part V applies and we are working through them. Three of the developments have received planning permission, while the city council has made contact with the other developers. In general, for Part V projects, delivery is agreed at commencement stage of the planning application. It is not the case that we are making only general comments. The Senator is perhaps trying to make a different argument. We must work through each site, which is what we are trying to do as well as we can.

Kevin Humphreys (Labour)
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There are 1,720 planning applications, but there have been only 26 deliveries-----

Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator does not have an opportunity to respond.