The Housing Minister is being urged to provide funding to Dublin City Council (DCC) and South Dublin City Council (SDCC) to "fully develop" their own mixed tenure estates.

Sinn Fein TD Eoin Ó Broin made the call to Minister Simon Coveney after it was announced that DCC is planning to increase its Land Initiative which will see public land released for mixed tenure housing estates.

He said: "The Initiative has been given new impetus by the Governments Housing Action Plan proposal for Council led mixed tenure estates.

"Other local authorities including South Dublin County Council are actively considering similar schemes.

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"These developments are large in scale and very welcome, however they should be funded by the government and not the private sector in order to ensure maximum public benefit.

"At present local authorities are considering a public private model for these developments with the Councils releasing all or part of the land to private developers. This is not the most effective way of developing such estates.

"Sustainable communities require good estate management. Having a single authority responsible for providing and maintaining all of the homes is better housing policy.

"Equally, allowing the Council to provide the cost rental and affordable homes would allow rents and house prices to be maintained at a fairer level. It would also allow for any profit from rents or sale to be recycled back into the public housing system.

"This funding model would allow local authorities to set the level of social housing on the basis of need in the area rather on the basis of what would generate a better rate of profit for a private developer.

"Allowing councils to design, build, rent and sell the units in mixed tenure estates will build better communities and see better value for money and a better return for the taxpayer."

(CD)