Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That instruction cannot be issued in the manner articulated by the Deputy and he knows that well. The legislation underpinning NAMA is very specific. That Act sets specific objectives and functions for NAMA, which are well established. NAMA has facilitated the construction of housing. There is an issue in terms of how, going forward, we interact with NAMA in regard to the provision of social housing. NAMA has in the past offered social housing to the State through the local authorities and so forth, some of which was taken up by local authorities and some of which was not taken up because of the local authorities' views in terms of the suitability of the particular housing that might have been offered by NAMA at that time.

The Housing for All strategy commits approximately €4 billion per annum by the State. The State is phasing out the leasing of units. The overwhelming majority of the State investment under Housing for All is going into the construction of housing, particularly social housing, at approximately 9,000 units per annum. There will be some element of purchase and, for the first two years, the phasing out of the leasing of local authority housing to deal with homelessness and people who are in need. Let us not sloganise a completely wrong narrative in terms of the State's centrality in building social housing and in facilitating the building of affordable homes and providing the infrastructure to enable house construction to happen, be that water infrastructure or the urban regeneration and development funds, URDFs, which have been announced all over the country to facilitate brownfield sites and the development of compact housing and apartment construction. That is the agenda. It is a State-centred approach.

In respect of NAMA, it has very specific legislative underpinning. There is an issue in regard to how, as time evolves, we interact with NAMA in terms of using its capacity to add to the State's endeavours under Housing for All in terms of the provision of housing. That will be under ongoing review.

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