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23
June 2005
The Green Party has said that
is crucial that the Government makes clear as quickly as possible the exact
terms and conditions for its proposed land swap deal.
Green Party Environment
spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD stated that;
“The Government has
announced today that the Harcourt Terrace site has already been exchanged for
200 affordable homes. But what exactly are the terms of this exchange? At the
moment it appears to be that in return for being given this site the developer
commits to selling 200 affordable housing units to those who qualify for
them at 20% below market value. That sounds
like a great deal for the
developer, but an extremely poor deal for the tax-payer. It is also a poor deal
for the workers who agreed to restrain their wage demands in return for 10,000
affordable homes.”
“The
creation of a new body termed the ‘Affordable Homes Partnership’ can only be
seen as the Government’s acknowledgement of its failure to deliver what it
promised to in Sustaining Progress. It’s simply a smokescreen to conceal the
Government’s ineptitude. Today’s announcement is little more than a
re-hashing of previous announcements going back to December 2003.”
“Despite
the fanfare at that time about delivering 10,000 new homes it appears that no
housing has been completed in the two years since the agreement was announced.
The only scheme nearing completion is on the Finglas Road in the Junior
Minister’s Dublin Constituency.”
“The Sustaining Progress
Agreement ends this December and only a fraction of the homes promised have even
left the drawing board. The 200 affordable homes announced today are a drop in
the ocean of the 10,000 promised,” concluded deputy Cuffe.
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CiaranCuffe.com