Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the debate as it is important to debate this critical issue. Let me assure Deputies that we share their ambition to deliver as many houses as possible to address the housing need. We might not agree on how we will do it but the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly and I are adamant that we focus our attention on trying to find ways to leverage more houses to meet the needs of society.

I acknowledge the genuine concerns of members but we have to come up with solutions on the best way that we can deliver houses as early as possible. The Part V provision is one way of doing that and we feel our approach is balanced, strengthens and ring-fences the 10% and ensures there is no payment of cash in lieu of houses, as was previously possible. We are making serious interventions to strengthen the Part V process to ensure that we get units and not cash or other alternatives.

Deputy Boyd Barrett remarked about funding of €1 billion being available off-balance sheet. I am not aware of that, but I am aware that the approved housing bodies, for which we want to see an enhanced role, have the capability and the capacity to raise funds off-balance sheet. We want to see them coming forward with proposals to the Department so that we can work with them and the local authorities to deliver more units. That is another mechanism of delivering housing distinct from Part V.

We are also considering alternative proposals as part of our social housing strategy. We want to find ways to leverage off-balance sheet funding to put it into capital projects. Ultimately, the delivery of a house from the concept through the planning, tendering and construction stages is an equation.

It is an equation, which must take into account the viability of a construction project. Unfortunately, the market has not normalised just yet because there are still properties for sale out there for prices far below what it would cost to build them. They are working through the system. Deputy Stanley raised the idea of local authorities purchasing them. We are approving local authorities to purchase houses directly where there is value for money and where there is a strong housing demand. They are being approved all over the country as we speak. However, we need to be careful that we are not soaking up all the houses that are available to young couples who require houses. There is a balance to be struck in how we approach that.

The Part V we are now proposing to the committee can deliver the units we require in a more advantageous way than the 20%, with its loose ends and all that went with it, achieved previously. We will be opposing this amendment on that basis. I will discuss the leasing and the other rental agreements in the next phase of discussion. I think we will be coming to those in the amendments.