Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Murphy's address and thank her for the constructive approach Social Justice Ireland has taken. We all agree that it is imperative to identify a means of providing for off-balance sheet funding for local authority housing. This is a major national, social and economic issue as it relates to the ability of families to obtain housing, which is a basic requirement in any society. The right to a home is a fundamental issue. People need homes and if we cannot solve this problem, we cannot solve any other problem. This is the primary problem we face and, notwithstanding the issues raised by EUROSTAT, it should be possible to resolve it.

I support the suggestions that have been made. NAMA may have a contribution to make. We all agree that we should achieve what we can through NAMA and by other means.

I am a great believer in the provision of local authority housing by local authorities, whether this is done by means of public private partnerships or an off-balance sheet funding framework that has yet to be agreed. It is imperative that this is done quickly because the longer we await a decision, the worse the problem will become and the more forlorn those on local authority waiting lists will be.

I support the submission in principle. As I stated, a number of entities are willing to work out the mechanics of achieving off-balance sheet funding for housing construction and have made submissions to the committee in this regard. Some of us have tried to do this through local authorities. It should not be a problem to work out a joint venture between local authorities and the banks or credit unions, representatives of which appeared before the committee, with a view to ensuring local authorities take responsibility for the provision of local authority housing in the first instance.