Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I find it interesting that charitable, not-for-profit approved housing bodies are very good at making profits. When one considers the amount of State aid they receive, they would have to work very hard not to make a profit. Take Cluaid, for instance. It made a profit of over €6 million in 2016. Its rental income is €16 million and it has reserves of €74 million. It is sitting on a portfolio of almost 6,000 units which it values at €615 million. In three years time, thanks to schemes such as CALF, it plans to own well in excess of 8,000 units, on many of which, the local authority will pay 92% of the market rent. This, in turn, will be topped up by the tenants' differential rent payments.

In most cases the charitable approved housing body would be getting more than the market rent. The private sector could not compete with these fellows. We are paying the deposit and the mortgage and the Government is giving the units away. In that context it is not surprising that the Central Statistics Office, CSO, and EUROSTAT want approved housing bodies to go on the balance sheet. Approved housing bodies manage their stock well and manage their tenants well, but I still wonder why the Department is so allergic to building and owning social housing. The Minister has said that local authorities are central to it. I can tell him that the local authority in Wexford has been sidelined and the approved housing bodies are running the show. It is costing us more, and it could be done cheaper through the local authority.

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