Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

Just before Christmas, NAMA announced it had approximately 2,000 properties available for local authorities and housing associations and that funding would be made available through the social housing leasing scheme, which the Minister of State mentioned.

NAMA bought the debts at a reduced rate. It did not buy the properties. Would it not make more sense to call in the debts and have the properties returned to the State fully owned if the property developers cannot deliver? It does not make sense for local authorities to rent from developers who, in turn, will use the money to pay NAMA. Will the money go directly to NAMA or to the property developers who, in turn, will pay off NAMA? Since the scheme is a lease scheme, does this mean the properties will be returned to the developers? If so, they will have it both ways in that they will get their properties back and the local authorities and housing associations will pay the debts. This is a matter of the State paying on the double. It does not make sense. Could the Minister of State address some of these points?

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