Written answers

Wednesday, 20 February 2019

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Social and Affordable Housing

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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39. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if his Department has contacted Dublin City Council in relation to cost-benefit and opportunity cost studies of significant vacant lands under the control of the authority which have been earmarked for social and affordable housing for decades; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8187/19]

Photo of Eoghan MurphyEoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Under the Public Spending Code, project sponsoring bodies, such as Dublin City Council, must prepare an economic appraisal, such as a cost benefit analysis or a cost effectiveness analysis, for current and capital expenditure projects or programmes costing €20m or more. In the case of large-scale social housing projects, my Department reviews such appraisals, as the relevant sanctioning authority, and they are submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) for technical review.

My Department is working with Dublin City Council and DPER to ensure that the critical appraisal process is carried out in a robust manner, with the minimum impact on project delivery timelines. To this end, my Department recently met with Dublin City Council and DPER, arising from which my Department is preparing additional detailed guidance for local authorities on the appraisal process for social housing projects over €20m.

My Department continues to work closely with all local authorities to support accelerated delivery of new social and affordable homes on their residential land banks, with particular emphasis on prioritising those sites with the greatest potential to deliver mixed tenure housing at scale, in the short to medium term.

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