Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It can be buy-to-lease or build-to lease. Absolutely, and perhaps we could expand that model. If one looks at the UK, there is a huge reliance on approved housing bodies there to build and manage large property portfolios of social housing and often also of specialised housing. Whether it is for the elderly or the disability sector, there are specialised providers of certain types of housing. We could do a lot more of that in Ireland, particularly if one looks at our demographics in respect of purpose-built housing for the elderly and the building of communities that would encourage single individuals who are senior citizens and who may be living in large family homes with the associated cost and security concerns. They may well want to move and allow the property to be occupied by a family, multiple tenants or whatever.

In terms of attracting funds, from my experience there are many offers from equity funds and others looking to put financing together, whether it is from the European Investment Bank, our own Housing Finance Agency, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, or private funds. The issue, in fact, is finding a way to spend it. The point raised earlier by Deputy Wallace is true. The lending model for developers has totally changed. At present, the banks do not have the appetite to finance developments beyond approximately 60% of the finance costs, so the other 40% has to be made up with new financing models with which some developers are uncomfortable and which, in some cases, have been very expensive in terms of the financing options. That is prohibitive and we are looking at ways to help that situation.

There has not been much discussion on rent supplement and HAP. We are trying to encourage landlords, as well as tenants, into HAP and we are using the tax system to do that. Last November, as part of the package around rent certainty, the Minister for Finance introduced a tax measure whereby landlords can get 100% mortgage interest relief if they commit to having HAP or rent supplement tenants for up to three years. This is trying to tip the balance another way. Let us face the fact that some landlords have a view that discriminates against tenants relying on HAP or rent supplement, which is wrong. We need to try to address that balance and perception so that we do not disadvantage people in those circumstances.

In the context of one of the other questions asked earlier, we are making €1.5 billion or so available to local authorities for the social housing build-and-buy programme between 2015 and 2017.

Let us consider the impact we predict this resourcing can have on housing lists in local authorities. The average impact can be 25%. Therefore, by the end of 2017, if this money is spent and if the units are delivered on the back of it, housing lists can be reduced by 25% by the end of next year. In some counties the figure is higher and in others it is lower. In the case of Dublin City Council, for example, the figure is 21%. These figures are available if people want them.