Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. The data to which I referred is from this year. He is absolutely correct about the average cost last year. The difficulty is that the origin of leasing is back in 2008, 2009 and 2010, when there was no capital funding. We know from a report published by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, IGEES, in 2018 that long-term leasing represents very bad value for money, particularly in high demand areas such as cities or when compared with the low cost of borrowing to build and buy now. In addition, it does not provide lifetime security of tenure for tenants because after 25 years they either have to renew the lease and pay again or terminate the lease and rehouse the household elsewhere.

One of my big concerns is the dramatic increase in the number of Part V leases so far this year. There have been more than 100 such leases, the highest number to date. Some of those Part V leases are exceptionally expensive and, to me, make no sense whatsoever, given that Part V is meant to ensure permanent social housing and social tenure mix in private developments.

Given that IGEES has said this is bad value for money, and as we know it is bad for tenants, will the Minister commit to undertaking a value-for-money exercise, particularly in respect of Part V leases, and using this money more wisely?

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