Mr. Michael Layde:

On value for money, I presume that the reference was to the leasing arrangements that we have. They were the subject of a review by the Comptroller and Auditor General and were found to represent value for money.

It is important to consider leasing in the context of the public funding that is available to us, which is obviously significantly less than was available in the years when the economy was thriving. By using that money to lease properties rather than to build or acquire them, we can produce more properties more quickly, with the same amount of money, to address social housing need. It still needs to represent value for money and, as I have said, it has been the subject of a formal assessment by the Comptroller and Auditor General, who found that, on balance - and these things are always on balance - it represented value for money.

The intention behind the direct deduction facility, as my colleague said, is to assist people in ensuring that they do not develop arrears. Local authorities are facing the challenge of combined arrears approaching €60 million, which is clearly an issue. Social housing is provided by the State, as are welfare payments. Those welfare payments include resources for people to meet their accommodation needs. Social tenants pay a subsidised rent which is linked to their income. The Government has decided that it is appropriate that direct deduction should apply in those cases.

On the security of tenure issue, people who are accommodated in the private rented sector, whether or not they are receiving State support, are obviously in a position where their tenancy can legally be terminated and properties can become unavailable, but, the point on that that I made earlier is a valid one. If one compares that person's position today with the position that they will be in when they enter HAP, one sees that they will have moved from a situation of being entirely within the private rented sector and relying on income support to maintain themselves to one in which they will be within the social housing support structure under a housing authority, with that housing authority having continuing obligations to that person. They will have the facility then to move ultimately, if they have a continuing need for social housing, within the social housing space to other forms of social housing and even to purchasing a property through the incremental purchase schemes.

The Bill does not address the issue of rent control as such, but the Minister with responsibility for housing and planning has asked the PRTB to carry out some research, particularly in the Dublin context but also more broadly, on the issues that are now presenting in the rental market and the upward pressure on rents. It has been asked to report by the end of this month so as to inform the development of proposals in the social housing strategy around how issues in the private rented sector impact on social housing directly or indirectly.

On the additional 6,000 units being provided, some 1,200 by leasing, we believe that that target is realisable. NAMA is one source, but local authorities lease properties from a variety of landlords around the country. On counting refurbished units into that total, those are units that have been out of service for a very long time and, but for this investment, would remain out of service, so we think that it is legitimate to regard them as, in effect, new, additional opportunities for people on waiting lists to be housed.

The Housing Bill is about housing, not houses. The Government has mandated us to prepare a social housing strategy for publication by the end of the third quarter. It will be a detailed examination of the position on social housing and contain definite and specific actions.