Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Deasy has summarised what I was going to say. The Ireland strategic investment fund, ISIF, is money spent on joint ventures. A number of criteria apply to it, one of which is that the majority holding cannot be in the hands of the State. There must be a public-private partnership, which is not something new for the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, which is part of the NTMA. The NDFA has been working with bundles with an accumulated cost of over €20 million and has built many schools and other facilities for the State through public private partnerships.

On Second Stage, Deputy Higgins was present when I spoke in response to Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett about this point. The money can be used to build social housing. However, it can only be used in such a way that it is a public-private partnership or if the State is not the main investor. If it were, it would be on the Government balance sheet. Deputy Coppinger is incorrect in saying her constituents are different from mine. In different local authorities, we know about the housing needs, all of which must be met. This is a clear way in which funding can be used and I understand proposals are being examined. It would be a productive use of the funds if it meets the criteria. On the Government and Opposition sides, there are no differences in what we want. We want social housing, job creation and the rules of the funding mean the criteria to which I referred apply. A public-private partnership will work and if people can be found to co-invest, it makes a significant difference. I remember Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett making a proposal on this issue on Second Stage. We agreed that the points made by the Deputy made sense in the context of the rules of engagement for this fund. There is no issue.

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