Approximately 1,000 affordable houses will be provided in Kildare and Galway, the Taoiseach said today.
Speaking at the publication of the mid-term review of the Sustaining Progress pay agreement, Mr Ahern said 7,800 houses would be made available using surplus local authority land.
The provision of 10,000 affordable houses was a key commitment made by the Government when the Sustaining Progress agreement was signed 18 months ago.
Mr Ahern said: "Last year, I placed on record my personal commitment and enthusiastic support for developing the Affordable Housing Initiative. We have also agreed that alternative strategies for fast-tracking delivery should be pursued, including the possibility of swapping valuable sites in return for affordable housing in a manner that ensures more units, quicker delivery and better value for money."
The Government had faced strong criticism for its lack of progress on the Affordable Housing Initiative, which was intended to tackle the shortage in housing supply and the rapid increase in house prices.
Mr Ahern said the scheme would not affect the funding for existing social housing programmes, which he said would amount to more than €1.8 billion this year.
Mr Ahern, along with the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreedy, and the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, met groups in the community and voluntary sector to discuss the social commitment under the National Pay Agreement.
In the pay talks last month employers and unions agreed wage increases for the next 18-months, a review of the national minimum wage and increased redundancy payments.
"There was a lot of hard work involved - I hope everybody's sleep deficits are now in surplus - but I think the outcome justified the effort," said Mr Ahern.
PA