Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The cost rental model makes up almost half the rental market in some European countries. There are huge gains for Irish society if we can move to a cost rental model because of the security it will give to people who are not able to own a home or who want to rent and have security in that choice. I want it to be a major part of our housing market but it will take time to get us there. That is why the first pilot scheme we are progressing is so important. It is only a pilot scheme but if it is successful, we will be able to expand it quite quickly because of conversations that I am having with the European Investment Bank, with which I have had a number of meetings to date. I will soon fly to Luxembourg to further those discussion because cost rental, as I said, is working in other European countries with European Investment Bank support and I want to have that support here in Ireland. Under LIHAF and a couple of other measures that some local authorities are pursuing we will see something akin to a cost rental model, whereby they use LIHAF either for a rental discount for certain properties or where local authorities get involved with new build-to-rent properties that are coming on line. Different things are happening that I want to come under this cost rental idea and to progress as quickly as possible.

I gave the commitment referred to by Deputy Cowen in advance of the housing summit. We had an engagement with the local authorities before the housing summit and they came back with indicative numbers. The housing summit was a chance for the Minister of State, Deputy English, and I to discuss some of the new schemes, such as the affordability measures, the enhanced leasing scheme and the new repair and lease scheme. The housing team in each local authority must now look at our targets for 2018 and out to 2021 and decide how it will achieve those targets. I want that to then be published in order that every councillor, Deputy and Senator knows exactly what is expected of each local authority. That transparency will facilitate accountability and delivery.

We have a special housing unit which has been on site. The Minister of State, Deputy English, has also made several site visits to local authorities, as have I, to go through their detailed plans. Whenever I am in a local authority area, as I was in Clare and Limerick on Monday, it is a chance for me to talk to the housing officer there and see not just the sites but also the timelines around delivery and to deal with any questions or difficulties the local authority may have in respect of the relationship with the Department.

In so far as cost rental is concerned, the targets will be for delivery under the Rebuilding Ireland numbers we have.

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