Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has just answered my question and explained why we produced a minority report and digressed from the Committee on Housing and Homelessness. Off-balance sheet funding is a mirage and nobody has been able to explain how it will work. Although it is the only alternative that has been suggested, nobody could come before the committee and explain it. The Minister has admitted it is confusing and that EUROSTAT keeps changing the rules. It is making it more difficult by the month to get things off-balance sheet. RTE's "Prime Time" did an investigation and identified that no new model that would be capable of providing and financing social housing on an off-balance sheet basis has emerged. Given this never-ending quest, one would think off-balance sheet funding would be cheaper or easier. However, it is not. If we have to build houses on an off-balance sheet basis, it will be much more expensive and take much longer than if we could spend a fund we have saved up, namely, ISIF, formerly known as the National Pensions Reserve Fund. It should be very simple for us to spend it.

See this speech in context