Up to the end of last year, 701 social and 1,470 affordable housing units were delivered to local authorities, Minister of State for the Environment Noel Ahern told the Dáil.
"In addition to the number of housing units, 38 land transfers to local authorities have been completed to the end of 2005 involving some 20 hectares; a further 213 partially or fully serviced sites have been transferred to local authorities and voluntary housing bodies; and over €24.5 million has been received in lieu of land."
Fine Gael's Padraic McCormack said the position was that developers could either give land, money or sites or an equivalent amount of land in any area of the local authority.
"Is the Minister aware that in areas like Galway city, in particular, where developers are developing land, and where land is very expensive, and county areas near the city south as Oranmore, Castlegarren and elsewhere, the builder can now provide land in Glenamaddy, Tuam, Mountbellow or anywhere elsewhere 30, 40, or 50 miles away in lieu of the 20 per cent."
Mr Ahern said the developer might propose what he or she wished but it was the local authority that made the decision. "If the sites are located away from the development, they must be situated within the local authority area. A developer could not transfer the provision of such a site from Galway city to Galway county."
Labour's spokesman Eamon Gilmore said that up to the middle of last year, just over 2,000 units of accommodation were delivered under the planning Act and it was expected that there would be another 8,000 over the next three years.
