Richard Boyd Barrett presses minister on €13m Cherrywood pledge

Yeah, just following on from my line of questioning on Lehav earlier on, can we just clarify, okay, I mean, I think it's shocking that you've dropped in the new infrastructure fund any conditionality, but that's what you're doing. But on the previous scheme on Lehav, are you going to enforce the conditionality that was attached to Lehav where it hasn't materialised? Because, I think at the very least, people in areas like mine need to know, because there was an expectation in Cherrywood that we were going to get affordable housing, and I'm very worried from what you're seeing to be indicating now is that the 13 million that was supposed to deliver some affordable housing in Cherrywood is not going to deliver any, and that's nearly a decade after we got it, so maybe you could just answer, are you going to pursue that? Can you, you know, because, like you said, I don't know what the local authority's attitude, but it doesn't seem to be chasing it. Are you going to chase them to chase it, or have you given up on that? Deputy, in relation to the particular project in Dun & Erie, I'm not familiar with the details of it, but I'll look into it after this meeting. Well, okay, well, I'll just say it's 13 million euro. It's not a small sum of money. We deliver quite a bit of affordable housing. So, I really would appreciate it if we could get some sort of answer, some sort of answer on that. And also, just to pursue the line of questioning on, from a slightly different angle, on those who are above the social housing income thresholds, who go over them, but don't earn enough to, on the affordability criteria, to get cost rental. That number is growing, because every year, every, you know, the incomes are kind of creeping up. And, like, one of the most heartbreaking things for people is to be 10 years on a housing list. And then, all of a sudden, very often, people come in to me almost every week, and say, oh yeah, it looks as if I was going to get allocated a house, and then they rechecked my income, and they said, I've just gone over. So, all my years waiting is gone, but I don't earn enough to get a cost rental, and in any event, there's not enough cost rental. So, I mean, that is a growing cohort, and it is absolutely heartbreaking for the people who find, who go over that threshold. I mean, have you any comfort to give, to give them? Don't you think we should be lifting the, the social housing income thresholds to ensure that doesn't happen to more people? No, I agree with the deputy. It's, I think it's, it's about three years since Minister O'Brien raised the thresholds, and they need to be increased again, so I'm going to increase them, and I'm assessing as to what that should be. And social welfare payments, as you already pointed out, have increased other incomes, and it hasn't kept pace with those, and then, of course, just general wage inflation as well. And I want to examine too, so while I'll increase them, I'm not happy that this is how it's kind of done, that it's kind of a not, you know, you kind of, is the minister of the day is going to increase them or not, and where the priorities are. So I think maybe examine, is there a more, you know, an annualised way to do this rather than doing it in this kind of manner, which, you know, you've raised it with me, and I'm, you know, I have to find a, you know, in terms of all the, because everything I do is a priority in terms of housing to get that done. But I very much acknowledge that it is a very real problem, and I am going to increase it, and I expect to be increasing it this year. Appreciate it.