Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 508: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the details of the financial modelling undertaken by the Department or any other bodies in deciding to discontinue the capital loan and subsidy scheme for voluntary bodies on the basis that it did not provide value for money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28204/10]

Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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Under my Department's Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), mortgage finance is provided to approved housing bodies by way of loans from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to meet the cost of providing social rented accommodation for low-income families. At end 2009, approved housing bodies had provided some 9,335 units of accommodation and loans to the value of around €1.3 billion had been drawn down from the HFA. Loan charges are waived provided the accommodation is managed and operated by the approved housing body in accordance with the terms of the CLSS.

Following detailed consideration of all the social housing supply options available under my Department's Social Housing Investment Programme, the extension of terms of the Social Housing Leasing Initiative to include the approved housing bodies and taking account of the recommendations contained in the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes and in the report on the Strategic Review of the Capital Funding Schemes for Voluntary and Co-operative Housing carried out by independent consultants Grant Thornton in September 2009, a decision was taken to wind down the CLSS scheme by end 2011. A copy of the Grant Thornton report can be accessed through the Irish Council for Social Housing website at www.icsh.ie.

Capital funding of up to 100% of the approved cost will continue to be provided to the approved housing bodies under my Department's Capital Assistance Scheme for the provision of accommodation for groups with specific categories of housing need such as older people, people with a physical, intellectual or a mental health disability, homeless persons etc.