John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will. My argument is that if that pub reopened and the bed and breakfast accommodation was operating fully tomorrow morning, they would not have to pay anything for water or wastewater. The owners have no issue with the water charge because it is being separated into eight individual units but it is the same wastewater connection. It is going out the same pipe, an outfall. It is an issue of viability and I would appreciate it being addressed. It is just another issue that if we could get solved we would bring more of these units back.

I welcome our ambition in the cost-rental space. The Minister will recall when we were passing the Affordable Housing Act, I argued for that private sector piece to go into that legislation because I always believed we would not be able to deliver sufficient units through the AHB or local authority sectors. The STAR model is going to be an important delivery mechanism. The question I have relates to local authority delivery. Notwithstanding what South Dublin County Council has done or what Waterford City and County Council has done in bringing forward Ballycashin, it is an issue for local authorities in trying to get the numbers to stack up in cost rental. The AHBs now have up to 55% in terms of CREL borrowing at 1% and up to a 20% equity piece going into it versus the local authority, which has to borrow over an average of 40 years at 3.3%. When the figures are done on that, to get the equivalent value, if they are not getting €150,000 a unit under the affordable housing fund, the numbers simply do not stack up. We either need to make a decision that local authorities will have access to a CREL version or we need to just as standard say that if local authorities are delivering a cost rental scheme that they do have €150,000 per unit under the AHF.