John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank both agencies for coming before us this afternoon. As other speakers said, the role they play in the provision of social and affordable housing is critical and will become even more so in the years ahead.

On the topic of cost rental, one of the debates that happened when the legislation was going through the Houses was in relation to moving beyond. At the moment, Government is proving that the concept works and says the AHB is the appropriate sector to prove concept. However, the legislation allows for going beyond the AHB sector and for low cost return funds, such as pension funds, to get involved, as is normal across Europe in the provision of such a model. What are the agencies' views on that? What changes may be required to facilitate that beyond the AHB sector? In order for us to get the scale required in cost rental, it will have to go beyond that sector. Only through scale and time will we see the benefit of it and the competition with the private rental market which will bring down rents. I just looked at the figures there.

It was stated that €850 million was ring-fenced for cost-rental finance out to 2026. If we do a rough calculation on the figures, the Housing Finance Agency is lending between approximately €237,000 and €238,000 per home, which is for roughly 3,600 cost-rental properties it has earmarked up to 2026. We know we need to go beyond that. It was mentioned that the Housing Finance Agency's envelope will allow it to do so. What needs to be done in order to move? Do the representatives concur with my thinking that we have to move beyond the AHB sector in order to get scale?