Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to housing, the proposed Central Bank changes to mortgage requirements will compound the problems for young people. Home ownership will be concentrated in fewer hands and the majority will have to pay increased rents.

I refer to the section of the Minister's statement that refers to a figure of €2.2 billion for social housing provision in the next three years. The Minister is going to provide some of it between now and 2017 and then give €300 million to a public-private partnership that has yet to be established or dreamed up. Why not take the direct route and do it through the capital expenditure programme? The Minister is looking to do some of it through an off-balance sheet vehicle which will provide at least €400 million from 2015 onwards for approved housing agencies. The Government is more interested in off-balance sheet financing mechanisms to deal with critical social problems than dealing with social problems. If it was determined to deal with the housing issue, it would not have to run around the houses for off-balance sheet mechanisms and public private partnerships. Since the foundation of the State, the country has been able to build social housing. Are we now outsourcing the task to off-balance sheet elements such as Irish Water, semi-State companies, special purpose vehicles and public private partnerships? The housing programme should not be outsourced to the profiteering end of finance.

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