Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and congratulate the Minister of State on introducing these regulations. Regardless of the type of housing that is provided, it is important that there be regulation and security for people in housing.

The HFA was set up as a State organisation and is now a self-financing one or, as has been mentioned, a mini-bank. Any bank that has an overall surplus of €23 million when all of the others are going to the wall is to be congratulated. The HFA's submission mentions a reserve of €69 million and that the shareholders gave the Department a dividend of €23 million. Rather than being bailed out, the HFA bailed in. This is welcome. It could be claimed that the €23 million could have been used for housing, but it must be taken into consideration that the HFA's remit also includes water, capital and environmental funding. My comments are meant to remind the HFA that it is in a good financial position.

I understand why one matter has been included in the statement.

Lending in 2013 will be down on lending for 2012, not because the agency does not have money but because money is not being drawn down. The witnesses can correct me on that if I am wrong. Reference was made to the voluntary agencies and their capacity to draw down money. I believe the voluntary agencies, who are doing outstanding work on the ground, need help. There are many voluntary staff and some paid staff in the voluntary housing agencies. The introduction of rules and regulations puts onerous demands on voluntary bodies. Perhaps the witnesses, in particular those from the Department, will say what help will be available to enable staff of the voluntary agencies to upskill to ensure they can meet the demands of these rules and regulations. This is the only way forward. While I compliment the Minister on the introduction of these necessary regulations, having been a member of a local authority for 20 years I am aware that while regulations coming from the top down are great it is equally important those from the bottom up have the wherewithal to implement them.

Public private partnership works well in other sectors and assists in the financing of government, which is to be welcomed. However, voluntary housing agencies are not builders. This is another area in which they also need help. Many of the houses provided down through the years by the voluntary housing agencies were built by construction companies. However, not much construction taking place these days and supply is not meeting the needs of the voluntary housing agencies. Who will provide houses if not the construction companies? This is perhaps an area in which NAMA can assist. Can the expertise of the local authorities in terms of house construction be transferred to the voluntary housing sector? Do current rules and regulations allow for this? It would be a sin to lose all of that expertise while expecting voluntary housing agencies with no expertise or wherewithal to do the job.

I welcome the interim regulations. It is only be trial and error that it is possible to get things right in terms of the implementation of regulations. Unfinished housing estates is another issue that needs to be looked at in conjunction with the voluntary housing agencies, local authorities and NAMA. It will be necessary for all of those bodies to address this issue. On the issue of shared ownership, I was pleased to hear Mr. Ó Lionáin's comments on that scheme. If he can provide us with a date for publication of the report on that matter we can schedule it for discussion by the committee. Those involved in the shared ownership scheme have been dealt a raw deal. They are taking all the bang while the local authorities have got their bucks. They are also unable to engage with personal insolvency practitioners and as such are out in the cold and on their own.

Reference was made to people on the margins who are not entitled to apply for local authority loans. Deputy Stanley gave the example of two people who are working and slightly above the threshold for a local authority loan and unable to obtain a bank or Housing Finance Agency loan. Mr. Ó Lionáin might elaborate further on that issue. I recall that a group in east Galway got around this issue some years ago by setting up their own voluntary housing association which liaised on their behalf in this regard. Perhaps some mechanism could be put in place to advise people who are falling between the stools of the banks, the housing agencies and local authorities of what options are open to them.