Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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50. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the amount of publicly owned land in each local authority area that is under consideration to offer to developers for housing construction in tabular form; the way in which a fair return to the State will be ensured in these proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24783/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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On 27 April 2017, I published the first phase of the Rebuilding Ireland Housing Land Map, as committed to under Action 3.5 of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan. This a vital initial step in the new State Housing Land Management Strategy being developed within the context of the National Planning Framework, to be titled "Ireland 2040: Our Plan".

The map is the result of a significant amount of work carried out by my Department, local authorities, the Housing Agency and other State and semi-State bodies. The datasets published on the map include details of over 700 local authority and Housing Agency-owned sites, totalling some 1,700 hectares, including location and size, as well as 30 sites (comprising some 200 hectares) owned by State or semi-State Bodies, situated in major urban centres. The map also shows the locations of 144 active private construction sites, encompassing some 5,200 new dwellings, which are under construction in the Dublin region.

The map is freely accessible on an interactive portal at and data on sites can be extracted in a number of forms, including on a local authority basis.

The opening up of State-owned lands for the development of mixed tenure housing is a key objective under Rebuilding Ireland . I want to see the supply of high quality social and affordable homes, to buy or rent, delivered as quickly as possible from key sites, particularly in the major urban areas where demand is greatest. I have asked all local authorities to be innovative and pro-active in developing these sites.

In the first instance, the specific approach to housing delivery on each site, including the optimum tenure mix, is a matter for the local authority concerned, including the elected members, who best understand the housing needs in their area. Already, South Dublin County Council and Dublin City Council are well advanced in bringing large-scale sites forward for mixed tenure housing, with projects advertised that can deliver around 3,000 mixed tenure homes on 4 key sites, located in Kilcarbery (South Dublin) and Infirmary Road, Emmet Road, and Oscar Traynor Road (Dublin City). I expect other local authorities to follow suit.

Mixed tenure development on State-owned land provides a strong opportunity to provide social and affordable housing quickly in a fully integrated and sustainable community. Importantly, it allows for risk-sharing and far quicker delivery of social housing and housing more generally as part of the full development of each site. For example, in relation to a major site in Dublin City at O’Devaney Gardens, I have already announced Stage 1 funding approval of almost €18 million for 56 social homes on the site. Only building social houses on the rest of the site would mean slower delivery, over a 10- or 15-year period, as capital funding becomes available.

I am committed to ensuring that the State extracts the most beneficial use of its currently under-utilised assets for much needed housing in the shortest possible timeframe, and maximises the social dividend, in particular by increased and speedier delivery of high-quality social and affordable homes, to buy or rent. My Department will continue to work with local authorities and other State agencies to this end.