Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I look forward to seeing the housing delivery action plans in April.

Each local authority has been given housing targets but in the same month Dublin City Council had to as part of its competitive tender process on its largest site at O'Devaney Gardens sell a portion of the site to deliver the social and affordable units on that site. There is many a slip twixt cup and lip so does Mr. Curran believe that the local authorities can deliver on housing delivery targets? I ask because so far I have not seen such capability in the biggest local authority in the country.

I have some questions for the Housing Alliance. Deputy Ó Broin said that he would focus on housing delivery and, therefore, I will focus on the experience of the alliance in housing maintenance because one of the reasons the housing stock has been undermined is it was sold. I will direct my questions at Mr. O'Connor because I know that he has a lot of experience of the UK. Some of the AHBs in the UK have had great difficulty in matching their long-term maintenance budget with the service that needs to be provided. Do the witnesses believe that the Housing Alliance can between differential rents, funding streams and direct funding, and the long-term maintenance budget maintain services? UK AHBs have suffered a disservice. I mean that they have not received an appropriate amount of funding to sustain maintenance provision over time and people have criticised them for not being able to do so.

The period is 50 years if an organisation is a designated cost-rental provider. One of the problems with that period is there was no mention of the phrase "in perpetuity" after a certain time. Does the Housing Alliance intend, when it gets the loans, to continue providing cost-rental housing for the long term as opposed to, potentially, renting out units or selling them at market value after 50 years? It is not going to be Mr. O'Connor personally but that aspect is a problem and worry for the future. That mistake has been made in the past.

Has the Housing Alliance assessed the impact of a rise in interest rates? With regard to its business model and funding, the Housing Alliance delegation has said that it gets funding from the Bank of Ireland and the Ulster Bank. What funding arrangements are in place? Has an assessment been carried out?