Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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28. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the precise acreage, value and location of residential land owned by Galway City and County councils which has been transferred under the land aggregation scheme; the total cost of the transfer; the plans for this land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9027/17]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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29. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the precise location and acreage of city council owned residential zoned land now unavailable for the construction of social housing due to the proposed N6 project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9026/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 29 together.

It is a matter for Galway City Council, in the first place, to determine the need for land for social housing or any other purposes and the optimum means of acquiring such land. My Department will review any proposal received from the Council in relation to borrowing, having regard to all the circumstances that apply.

With regard to lands held by the Housing Agency under the Land Aggregation Scheme, which were formerly owned by Galway City Council and Galway County Council respectively, only one such site exists, details of which are set out in the following table. No lands in the possession of Galway County Council were taken into the Land Aggregation Scheme.

With regard to the development of the Land Aggregation Scheme site at Ballymoneen Road, my Department has issued approval to Galway City Council for the construction of 69 social housing homes on the site, to be completed under two phases. Phase 1, which involves 14 homes, is currently at tender stage while Phase 2 of the scheme, to deliver a minimum of 55 homes, is at design stage.

On 20 February 2017, I published the Social Housing Construction Projects Status Report: Q4 2016. This Report includes details of all construction projects, including both phases of the aforementioned Ballymoneen project, broken down by programme and local authority. The Report shows progress at each stage of the project life-cycle and is available at the link below. The Report will be updated on a quarterly basis.

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As committed to under Rebuilding Ireland the Housing Agency is in the process of developing a “Strategic Management Plan” for each Land Aggregation Scheme site, in order to advance these sites to housing development stage at the earliest opportunity. This action is timetabled for delivery in the first quarter of 2017.

The issue of land being assigned to the N6 project is not a matter for my Department.