807 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the resources available to each local authority under the affordable housing scheme; the variable subsidy per site; the precise financial clawback arrangements that apply to local authorities which make available subsidised houses and sites; the situation in relation to the existing landbank of local authorities whereby they may have had land in their ownership acquired many years ago at a low cost but the replacement value of this land would be very high; the basis on which they will be compensated; and if he has any proposals to increase this level of subsidy or the operational details of the scheme. [1422/01]

Local authorities may borrow from the Housing Finance Agency to acquire land for the provision of housing under the affordable housing scheme. The cost of land acquisition, together with the rolled up interest charges up to a period of seven years may be charged to the scheme.

As part of the measures to increase the supply of affordable housing set out in Action on Housing, I introduced a site subsidy for houses provided by local authorities under the affordable housing scheme and also in respect of new houses sold by local authorities under the shared ownership scheme. This subsidy enables local authorities to provide housing under the schemes at an affordable price and at a discount from the market value of similar houses in their areas. The maximum subsidy available is £30,000 in the major urban areas of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford and £25,000 in other areas.