Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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766. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if local authorities are free to provide direct build local authority houses for rural dwellers that can provide a site through family or other means; his plans to ensure that this means of addressing the housing lists at local level can be encouraged; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10115/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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It is a matter for each local authority to determine the nature, location and relative priority of individual social housing projects for their areas. In submitting proposals for funding to my Department in respect of new social housing projects, local authorities may include proposals for single social houses in rural areas where they have identified and prioritised such need and the issue of site availability is one for the local authority.

Local authorities now have substantial pipelines of new social construction housing projects, ranging from larger to smaller scale developments, details of which have been published and are available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link:

.

I am keen that they advance all of these as soon as possible and have assured them that funding is available to fully support their efforts in this regard.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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768. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the extent to which construction companies have been approached with a view to providing direct build local authority houses in counties Kildare, Wicklow and Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10117/18]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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769. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if a cost benefit analysis has been carried out on a proposal to encourage construction companies to build local authority houses on county council lands in counties Kildare, Wicklow and Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10118/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 768 and 769 together.

The delivery of social housing in each local authority area is a matter in the first instance for the local authorities themselves. However, I would encourage all local authorities, including those in Kildare, Wicklow and Meath, to use all available approaches to expedite delivery of new social homes.

This can include local authority managed construction projects, those advanced with approved housing bodies, Part V agreements with developers, turnkey construction in partnership with developers and any other suitable arrangements with developers that deliver good quality and early social housing.

I am not aware of any formal cost benefit analysis on the possible direct provision of social housing by developers. However, all capital-funded new social housing construction projects, irrespective of the nature of the development, are subject to the Capital Works Management Framework and the Public Spending Code. Therefore, I am satisfied that appropriate value for money scrutiny is in place to assess all delivery proposals.

Following from the review I undertook of Rebuilding Ireland last September, my Department established a new delivery team to work with Minister of State English and with all local authorities and approved housing bodies in exploring all options for early social housing delivery.