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Dáil
‹ Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation

O'Devaney Gardens housing deal

Summary

Deputy McAuliffe asked about legislation enabling local authorities to build public housing on public land and defended the O'Devaney Gardens arrangement. After procedural questioning, the Tánaiste said the criticism was wrong, confirmed the council decision and explained the State’s first-refusal option for affordable rental homes.

Will the Tánaiste outline to the House the legislation we as a Government have passed that empowers local authorities to build public housing on public land? Does he reject what happened yesterday in the Chamber when several terms like "sweetheart deal" and "blackmail attempts" were used deliberately to misrepresent what is happening with O'Devaney Gardens? This was a democratic decision of Dublin City Council in 2019. It was negotiated on its behalf by officials with the successful bidder for the first refusal purchase of 30% of the 50% earlier earmarked for private sale.

Those units would be purchased so that they could be used for affordable rental accommodation. The State is simply being given the option to exercise that first refusal purchase. I chaired the meeting - there was no corruption, only an attempt to improve an already tendered contract, the parameters of which were set by a Sinn Féin-controlled council. Yet, Sinn Féin went on to vote against the improvement to its own deal.

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Where was the question on promised legislation in that?

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Can the Tánaiste outline to the House the legislation we have passed that empowers local authorities to build public housing on public land?

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We heard that at the start.

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Leo Varadkar The Tánaiste Fine Gael

What happened in the House yesterday was wrong. Aside from the intemperate and bad behaviour, it was factually incorrect. What Deputy McAuliffe said was true: it was a democratic decision of the council in 2019; and it was negotiated between the council and the developer, Bartra, that the council would be given first refusal for 30% of the 50% of units that were earmarked for private sale purchase so that they could be used for affordable rental homes. All that is happening now is that the State is being given the option to exercise that first refusal. Deputy McAuliffe was spot on in that regard.

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