Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. O’Leary, Mr. Jordan and their teams. I do not say this lightly but we are very fortunate to have them. Their expertise and focus are clear. I thank them for submitting their opening statements, which were most helpful. I acknowledge their technical and other expertise. They do not set the policy and perhaps that is just as well. There is a differentiation to be made between policymakers and those who ultimately implement policy. I liked the expression Mr. O’Leary used when speaking about student accommodation that the Housing Agency is just the lender and does not police the scheme. That is a very simple matter-of-fact statement. Perhaps I am picking up that that is the type of person he is and it reflects his personality but he is very clear and concise and I compliment him on that. Sometimes we need less jargon and to have people just get to the point. The witnesses are focused on the task in hand and we are very fortunate to have that. This is about Housing for All and rolling out the various options. There are layers of different options and no single option that fits everything. I wanted to acknowledge that.

I am directing this comment to Mr. O'Leary. There are 31 local authorities. Local authorities account for 56% of the outstanding loan book of the Housing Finance Agency. Would it be possible, and it may not be, for Mr. O'Leary to share a breakdown of that loan book across the relevant local authorities? This committee is always looking at data and trying to narrow its focus. Without playing the blame game, some local authorities perform far better than others. There are many reasons for that and I am not making a criticism.

What is becoming clear after many years sitting on this committee is, perhaps, a lack of technical and financial expertise in local authorities, and that is where the groups before us come in. I am interested in hearing more about that.

There is the lending to higher education institutions, and three of those have been mentioned. Will the witnesses speak about those? Are they confident that others will come on stream? The reality is that if accommodation used by students can be freed in particular centres, with the students moving to or near educational campuses, there will be a shift that would create vacancies in other existing accommodation. It is an important aspect and the witnesses might speak to us about it.

There is also the question of the Land Development Agency, which is the big game in town. It has a big vision and plans, and there was some resistance to it. I had some concerns about how it interfaced with local authorities and the disposal of local authority properties. The legislation has moved on and the process is on a more definite footing. The Land Development Agency will have powers to acquire properties in local authorities, as is correct. What is the engagement with the Land Development Agency like?

Mr. Jordan's agency has really driven home the technical supports element. I do not want to be critical of local authorities but we are clearly seeing less involvement in local authorities. There is a desire on the part of the Government to continue supporting them. At the end of the day, however, it is not about supporting local authorities but people who can deliver homes, no matter who provides them or from where the finance is coming. Let us not get caught up in the ideology; we want homes for all people.

I will speak to the CPO process. I am familiar with it because I was on a council for many years before coming here. I live in Dún Laoghaire. I could bring the delegations to 35 derelict properties all in the hands and full unencumbered ownership of the local authority. There would be no difficulty with them. We have a crisis in Dún Laoghaire; we have a housing crisis everywhere. In many cases the local authorities have very valuable assets in major town centre zones. They could have commercial, retail and residential properties of which they do not take advantage.

On the advisory aspect, local authorities will constantly say a CPO is a financial quagmire. There are two aspects in that way so will Mr. Jordan speak to that? Are local authorities receptive or could Mr. Jordan say how engaging or receptive are local authorities in the process? The Housing Agency is to make land available to the Land Development Agency so will Mr. Jordan flag where they are and how that process is progressing?