Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We legislated in the Affordable Housing Act for community-led housing. There is not a huge amount of community-led housing or community-led co-ops, but I asked within the planning Bill for a housing strategy where an assessment is carried out by the local authority and it engages with approved housing bodies. It would also engage with any community-led housing groups in the area. I was told if the community-led housing group was registered with AHBRA, it would be part of that consultation process. However, community-led housing groups may do more than just provide housing. There are other services as well. Broadening that criteria for AHBs will benefit those community-led housing groups. They will be included as well.