Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

To be perfectly honest, in ten years' time people will ask who was mad enough to sign off on this scheme in the context of analysing the viability of the housing stock in the longer term. The Department is not going to have stock at the end of this. I ask that the officials come back with a comprehensive report. Answers are also required in respect of a number of questions. How many leases are or were in place and what is the average cost involved? Replies to parliamentary questions indicate that the information involved is commercially sensitive on an individual basis. Perhaps the Department could outline the average cost per county. When will the scheme will be phased out? Why has not been phased out to date? How can the Department conduct a cost-benefit analysis in circumstances where something is not for sale? How does the build-to-rent aspect work in the context of Part V housing? We need to have oversight of all that. If we are going to assess whether there has been value for money, we need that information. It is very hard to see how anyone could say that there is value for money when it comes to enhanced leases.