Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress to date in compiling a comprehensive register of land owned by local authorities as recommended by the Committee of Public Accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16424/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 293: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the full extent of the land bank available for housing or other development purposes to each of the local authorities throughout the country, in view of the fact that the total of such lands is 12,500 hectares. [16706/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 294: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his instructions to the local authorities regarding the future use of their respective land banks in view of the serious public authority housing needs; his estimate of the maximum number of houses attainable through the use of the total land bank; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16707/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 295: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the length of time which the local authority land bank of 12,500 hectares has been in the ownership of the various local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16708/05]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 296: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the transactions or exchanges which have taken place between the various local authorities and other bodies, groups or agencies which might have affected the amount or location of the various authority land banks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16709/05]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 293 to 296, inclusive, together.

My Department does not have details of the extent of all lands owned by the State or local authorities. The figure of 12,500 hectares, referred to in the question, is the amount of serviced residential land as at 30 June 2004, owned privately and publicly, which would give an estimated yield of 367,000 housing units.

While information was returned at the time of the 2004 survey on residential lands in local authority ownership, it is incomplete. My Department is not satisfied that in its present form it gives the overall picture on this issue. My Department intends to obtain more detailed and further information as part of the 2005 survey.

There are no plans to produce a register of all local authority lands, and there was no formal recommendation by the Committee of Public Accounts to undertake such a task. The value of local authority lands is reflected in the authorities' assets registers which now form part of their annual accounts. As lands in ownership will vary over time, depending on the purpose for which they have been required, a register would not be the best means of assessing an authority's ability to implement its various programmes.

In regard to housing, my Department initiated the development by local authorities of new five-year actions plans for social and affordable housing last year to ensure a systematic and integrated approach to the effective use of these resources. In developing these plans, local authorities were specifically requested to address the issue of land availability. I consider that given the nature of continuous housing need, the preparation of these action plans is beneficial to local authorities in identifying priority needs over the coming years and providing a coherent and co-ordinated response across all housing services, including delivery of housing by the voluntary and co-operative housing sector, and supporting these through necessary land management. The action plans will be reviewed in 2006 in the light of performance.

In this context, the broader questions of how local authorities manage their land portfolio to achieve objectives, including the question of exchanges or other transactions relating to their land banks are matters for the local authorities concerned.