Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Under Rebuilding Ireland, the Government has identified a requirement to deliver 137,000 social housing units. If it actually delivers them, it will effectively account for all projected housing development. The ESRI maintains that there is a need for approximately 35,000 units per year. Thus, in the coming four years, to deliver on Rebuilding Ireland, everything will have to be social housing. In reality, it will not because 100,000 units of the total to be delivered under Rebuilding Ireland will be accounted for under the housing assistance payment scheme. In other words, we expect the private sector to deliver them. We will then rent back from the private sector. That is the plan. Am I right in saying that is essentially what agency will be doing? Will it be trying to deliver on these targets instead of the State directly trying to ensure these targets will be met by it in building public and affordable housing? We will deliver a small portion directly and the agency will work with private developers for the most part to build on public land. The State will then end up renting the properties back from the developers to which it will have sold the land. That is the balance and they are the targets. There will be 37,000 units delivered directly by the State. Of the total of 137,000 units, 100,000 will be covered by the HAP scheme, the rental accommodation scheme and leasing arrangements. These figures are all for social housing. I do not see how anything else will happen other than that. Is there not something a little mad about it? The agency will help to deliver directly a small proportion of the units to be delivered under Rebuilding Ireland in conjunction with the local authorities and approved housing bodies. It will flog off the majority to developers. If we are to meet the targets set, the developers will have to lease back the properties to the State.