As this is my first contribution in the House, I ask for its indulgence for a moment as I thank my wife, my family, my friends, my supporters and the Fine Gael members who have assisted me in recent years and, in particular, during November's election campaign. Most importantly, I wish to place on record my thanks to the people of Waterford, who have placed their trust in me, and to the Tánaiste for appointing me as Minister of State with special responsibility for planning and local government. I very much look forward to working with everybody in the House in a collaborative fashion in the coming years. I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this very important issue. It is one we often spoke about when I was a member of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The development of the lands at Oscar Traynor Road has the potential to provide significant additional housing in a strategically important part of our capital city, involving the delivery of 853 homes, with accompanying community and créche buildings in multiple phases. It is intended that 340 of these will be cost-rental homes, 343 will be social homes, and 170 will be affordable purchase homes, giving a 40:40:20 tenure mix. The project commenced on site last March, and work is being undertaken by Glenveagh developments. Considerable experience and resources are being deployed by the developer on the project, with the appointment of an assigned certifier, project architects, structural engineers, fire safety consultants, access consultants and other specialist technical advisers. All building works of this nature are subject to the requirements of the building control regulations and regulations made under the Building Control Acts 1990, as amended, to ensure the safety and well-being of persons in the built environment. Dublin City Council advised that due to the scale and importance of this large housing development, it has been prioritised for inspection by the city's building control team. During the course of several building control inspections last year, concerns regarding compliance of the works with relevant parts of the building regulations were identified and in line with standard operating procedures were brought to the attention of site management and the assigned certifier. Given its statutory, regulatory and enforcement role under the Building Control Acts, this is a matter for the building control office in Dublin City Council and the Government. I have to respect its independent statutory role in this matter. I understand that the developer is engaging with Dublin City Council regarding resolution of these issues and is actively working to ensure that all homes in this development will be finished to a high standard in order to achieve full compliance with building regulatory standards. Building control officers will continue regular routine inspections over the coming weeks and months through to the completion of this project in order to ensure both adequate public oversight and the necessary confidence that the requirements of the building regulations will be achieved. I note the Deputy's comments that works are no longer happening on the site. The information I have been provided with is that other works in relation to the public realm of the development have been brought forward in order to try to minimise any further delays of the overall project timeframe and that it is still on course for delivery on a phased basis between 2025 and 2028.

Sentiment score: 0.33

I again thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this important issue. I assure him that, from the information I have been provided with, a dialogue is occurring in order to try to find a satisfactory resolution. As he is aware, this is a very important development for the area. It is being delivered under Housing for All. We are committed to ensuring that it will be delivered in good time and in full compliance with the building standards. Doing so will ensure that the best outcome will be achieved for the taxpayer and prospective homeowners and tenants, which is so important. Dublin City Council is confident that any of the compliance issues previously identified can be resolved appropriately and without any undue delay to the overall project timeframe. It is worth noting as well that Dublin City Council has already advertised 16 of the affordable purchase homes. The council remains confident that these will be delivered during the first phase of delivery before the end of this year. I also note that Dublin City Council reconvened its Oscar Traynor Road consultative forum on 24 January in conjunction with the developer. It will continue to engage with stakeholders. A meeting of public representatives, to which the Deputy referred, took place on site on 10 February. I assure the Deputy that this project is a high priority for the Government. We want to see these quality homes being delivered in order that families and individuals can be moved into them as early as practical in line with the timeframes and, obviously, in full compliance with standards.

Sentiment score: 0.39