Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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66. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the direction he has given to local authorities to ensure that homes built for private sale on publicly owned land are sold at affordable prices; if he will consider introducing an appropriate national affordable housing scheme for this purpose; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33379/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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On 27 April, details of some 1,700 hectares of land in local authority and Housing Agency ownership were published on the Rebuilding Ireland Housing Land Map, with the potential to deliver 42,500 homes nationally. All local authorities have been requested to prepare Strategic Development and Management Plans by 30 September 2017 for the earliest possible development of their lands.

As set out in the Strategy for the Rental Sector, published in December 2016, the commitment to develop an affordable rental model is now being progressed by local authorities in Rent Pressure Zones, through leveraging the value of their land.

In this regard, Dublin City Council and the Housing Agency, in partnership with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, have developed detailed proposals for specific sites that they control in Dublin. My Department is currently working through those proposals with the project sponsors.

The final model for bringing forward public lands for housing, including an affordable rental element where appropriate, will be informed by the work on the initial pathfinder sites in the two local authority areas. In parallel, as part of the targeted review of Rebuilding Ireland, my Department is examining the broader issue of housing affordability, including the need for a national framework or guidance on affordable housing. Again, the specific proposals in Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council will be factored into that review process and my Department will also be consulting more broadly with local authorities as part of the review.