Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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147. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the extent to which there is an adequate amount of zoned land to meet the housing needs, both public and private, of the population in the local authority administrative areas in greater Dublin, including north Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28938/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The Residential Land Availability Study undertaken in 2014 determined the location and quantity of lands that may be regarded as being undeveloped and available for residential development purposes at 31st March 2014. The results of the survey indicated that there were 17,434 hectares of residential zoned lands nationally which is sufficient to support the construction of over 414,000 dwellings. This quantum of zoned land is considered to be more than sufficient to meet the annual new housing provision requirement of 25,000 homes and to provide for choice in the marketplace for development sites over the next decade or so. My Department’swww.myplan.ie web browser contains a detailed map of the residential land availability study which the Deputy and any other member of the public may consult, free of charge. A further Residential Land Availability Survey will be undertaken in 2017.

In relation to housing in the Dublin Region specifically, where housing demand is particularly acute, the Government published Construction 2020 – A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector (May, 2014) which included a commitment to establishing a Housing Supply Coordination Taskforce for Dublin with an immediate focus on addressing supply-related issues (Action 2 of the Strategy). This Task Force was convened by my Department and includes representatives of the four Dublin local authorities. Recent data from the Task Force concluded that across the four Dublin authorities there is land immediately available with planning permission for development of approximately 27,000 housing units and a further tranche of lands that could accommodate a further 20,000 new homes or so, if the owners of such lands sought planning permission to do so.

In relation to Kildare, as the Deputy will be aware, the current County Development Plan is under review and the draft development plan indicates that there is sufficient residentially zoned land to accommodate some 32,000 new dwellings in Kildare overall. The Draft Plan also addresses the degree to which further lands are required to achieve the housing allocation within the metropolitan area of the county under the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area and which will be further elaborated upon within the subsequent Local Area Plan process, in accordance with relevant statutory guidelines and in particular, the application of a sequential approach to the zoning of new residential lands.

In addition, the active pursuit of progressing housing developments on State lands, including local authority lands, is a major part of the new approach to housing provision under Rebuilding Ireland – the Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness. The Action Plan contains a number of integrated actions to underpin land supply management, including the development of a national Land Supply Management Strategy, within the context of the new National Planning Framework. This will involve identifying and mapping sites in local authority and public ownership with appropriate lands to be master-planned to deliver increased mixed-tenure housing, including social and more affordable housing. It is also envisaged that local authorities will be supported in acquiring housing lands in key developable areas, and strategic opportunities for urban renewal and regeneration will be identified for co-ordinated action across relevant public sector bodies.

Furthermore, the Housing Agency, in consultation with my Department and local authorities, has already commenced the mapping of some 700 sites in local authority ownership and those held by the Agency under the Land Aggregation Scheme, showing their location, size, boundaries and other information. The map will be made available in due course and will be updated to record the development and use of these lands.

Taking account of the foregoing and as outlined in Pillar 3 of the Government’s Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness - Rebuilding Ireland, I am satisfied that local authorities have sufficient land for new housing and to ensure choice and competition for development land in the marketplace. The principal challenge from a land supply management and housing supply perspective is to ensure a strong and steady supply of developable sites off this very considerable national land bank through a variety of active land management techniques, such as assistance in site assembly and removal of infrastructural blockages. In line with the Programme for a Partnership Government commitment on this issue, the Action Plan sets out a further range of practical and readily implementable set of actions to create a functioning and sustainable housing system.