Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It seems that this initiative is taking on a life of its own. When the Minister of State announced in this Chamber that a long-term leasing programme was to be introduced, Deputies understood that it involved privately owned developments. Given that a significant sum of money was involved - we were told that €20 million a year would be spent over a 20-year period - questions were asked about whether this represented a bail-out for developers. We were told that the local authorities would hand back these properties to developers in 20 years' time. It now appears that over two thirds of these properties are affordable homes that are currently vacant. I understand that local authorities have 3,000 vacant affordable homes that they cannot sell. Do I understand correctly that just 82 of the approximately 1,500 properties that have been approved for leasing have come from the private sector? Has the Minister of State met the target that was set for the acquisition of privately owned properties for leasing? The figures I have mentioned do not indicate that is the case. Can the Minister of State explain why this initiative is becoming predominantly based on affordable homes?

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