A Dáil Minister has used the opening of a new housing project to stress the need to look beyond traditional approaches to the construction and acquisition of housing.

The Minister for Housing and Local Services, Michael Finneran, was speaking at the opening of a housing project undertaken by the Iveagh Trust voluntary housing group in Dublin this week.

He performed the ceremony with the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Gerry Breen while Miranda, Countess of Iveagh, Lord Iveagh, and other members of the Guinness family attended.

He said that the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government contributed in excess of €9.6 million towards the provision of 50 units of family type accommodation through Dublin City Council, who administer the Department's Capital Funding Schemes.

Minister Finneran complimented the work of the voluntary sector and praised the Iveagh Trust for its continued commitment to the more disadvantaged members of society

The Minister said: "The valuable contribution being made by organisations such as the Iveagh Trust towards the provision of good quality accommodation for the more disadvantaged members of society is the best advertisement there is of the benefits of a partnership approach between statutory and voluntary agencies in the area of social services."

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He also acknowledged the difficulties being faced during these challenging economic times but gave assurances that those more vulnerable in our society "will not be overlooked by his Department".

"My Department is placing renewed emphasis on meeting the needs of particularly vulnerable households by prioritising investment in special needs provision under the Capital Assistance Scheme and last month I announced the approval of almost €60 million euro worth of projects with some €10.5 million being for homeless persons," he said.

He went on to say: "There is a need to move beyond the traditional approaches of construction and acquisition if we are to continue to meet housing need at the levels expected of us.

"We are striving to ensure that public investments combine effectiveness, efficiency, and value for money in meeting priority social housing needs.

"To that end, a range of new options have been developed to deliver appropriate solutions at this time of increasing social housing needs."

He said that the long-term leasing initiative and the rental accommodation scheme, which seek to capitalise on the existing availability of unsold properties in the market, are both important elements.

"These schemes provide us, and the voluntary and cooperative sector, with an opportunity to provide greater numbers of households with good quality accommodation than would otherwise be possible from our annual investment," he continued.

Minister Finneran concluded by thanking all involved in the project and wishing the new residents of this new development many years of health and happiness in their new accommodation.

Speaking at the event about the long-established partnership between the Iveagh Trust and Dublin City Council, Harry Byrne, Chairman of the Iveagh Trust, said there have been many occasions when both bodies have worked together "to fulfil a common aim; to provide good quality affordable rented accommodation for people in housing need in the city of Dublin".

(BMcC/GK)