Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)

I have four quick questions. We got reports earlier this year from local authority housing managers of delays in the social housing investment programme, SHIP, the capital advance leasing facility, CALF, and cost rental equity loan, CREL, first-stage approvals, either directly for local authorities or AHBs. Is that still the case or are those approvals back to what their ordinary time would have been? For the benefit of members, will Mr. Taaffe tell people what the borrowing cap is? When people hear what the borrowing cap is in a year for every local authority, they will realise the scale of the challenge. It is a tiny amount of money for all local authority borrowing. Is there any update on where that is at? Since the single-stage process was created, 543 homes have been delivered, which is nowhere close to what was anticipated. My understanding is there is quite a lot of additional risk for the local authority as it is for smaller schemes. Does Mr. Taaffe have any views on why it has not been successful?

The local government cost-rental backstop was promised several years ago. Is there any discussion with the Department about what that might look like? It is obviously necessary. South Dublin, for example, has a very significant and innovative new cost-rental project that is should be commended for. That backstop will be key. If the borrowing and the backstop are not in place, local authorities will not be doing much cost rental beyond Tallaght and St. Michael's, as far as I can see.