Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 25 October 2018

Public Accounts Committee

2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency

9:00 am

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My time is going to be limited and I want to come back to that before I finish. There are so many schemes here and the Comptroller and Auditor General refers to the complexity. Because of this complexity it leaves less oversight. This is of serious concern. Does the Department have data on how the total number of social houses and the nature of the tenures that are held by the voluntary bodies? When I started out as a councillor, we were told there was no difference except that a person could not buy the house. I now learn that over the years there are different tenure times. Instead of having a house for life, a person now might have it for ten or 20 years. I would like to come on to a different question before I am stopped; what is the exact number of houses held by the voluntary bodies? What is the nature of the tenancies and what are the durations and the maintenance fees paid? If I could have that information, it might come back later through the Chairman.

I have looked at the Housing Agency reports and have no idea why the agency is necessary. Forgive me; it is not personal. I have no idea. The agency gets a €70 million plus revolving fund and in addition there are all the salaries and administration costs. I do not like the word "quango" but to me it appears to be another unnecessary level of bureaucracy. The money should be going straight to the local authorities. That is my preface.

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