Written answers

Tuesday, 9 October 2018

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Regeneration Projects

Photo of Willie O'DeaWillie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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512. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if it is his policy that complex regeneration projects will ensure that 60% of the development on public owned land will be for private sale at market prices; his views on the regeneration project in Inchicore, Dublin 8; if the project falls into the category of complex regeneration projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40583/18]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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To support the work of the newly established Land Development Agency, LDA, the Government has agreed new policies requiring that a minimum of 30% of public lands coming forward for redevelopment and/or disposal are to be reserved for affordable housing purposes, in addition to the statutory requirement for 10% social housing under the existing Part V provisions. The balance of 60% of the housing output of such projects will typically be for market housing.

These new policies will ensure more social housing delivery, more affordable housing delivery and more housing supply in general which is crucial in easing the prices and rents associated with new housing, while at the same time securing the delivery of sustainable and mixed tenure communities in a balanced manner across the various social, affordable and market housing elements of the overall housing sector, all of which require enhanced supply.

As regards the regeneration project in Emmet Road, Inchicore, Dublin 8, this is separate from the projects being advanced by the LDA and is one of three significant sites being brought forward by Dublin City Council under its housing land initiative, HLI, the aim of which is to ensure the delivery of mixed-tenure homes in the Dublin City Council functional area. All three sites under the HLI are identified as strategic development and regeneration areas within the Dublin city development plan 2016-2022, and the plans for the development of the Emmet Road site predate the establishment of the Land Development Agency.

Mixed-tenure developments are an important policy objective of Rebuilding Ireland and uphold the principle of sustainable mixed communities, where housing needs are not subject to rigid segregation based on income levels. They also provide an opportunity to see major sites developed more quickly, and integrated into existing communities and areas. The Council has agreed the methodology for community consultation, as set out in the feasibility study presented through a community consultative forum.

While the final tenure mix on the Emmet Road site will be decided by Dublin City Council and informed by the detailed site development process, it will likely include 140 social housing homes, with the remaining 330 homes predominantly provided by the Council under cost rental arrangements. Under the cost rental model, minimising profit, land costs and other costs and securing very competitive EIB financing mean that much more affordable rents can be achieved than can be delivered through market arrangements.

Dublin City Council has appointed a dedicated project manager and a project team to drive the project forward. In addition to pre-existing consultative arrangements, the council is also facilitating the establishment of a special Inchicore regeneration consultative forum specifically for this project.

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