Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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This issue is quite important because of the amount of potential social housing that was available and is no longer available. In December 2011, the National Assets Management Agency, NAMA, announced it would facilitate the provision of units for social housing over a period of time. A steering group was established, comprising the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, NAMA, the Housing Agency, housing authorities and approved housing bodies with the purpose of achieving this objective. It achieved its objective and NAMA put together a property portfolio of 6,574 units, all of which were offered to the 31 local authorities in which the properties were located. One of the most bizarre features of the housing crisis is that only one third of those units were taken by the local authorities despite the fact that NAMA had approved all of those houses. It had been done in consultation with the various other relevant bodies and agencies and the list had been compiled for the specific purpose of making a portfolio of social housing available. It is bizarre that this happened in the middle of a homelessness and overcrowding crisis.

Of the 6,574 units, 4,048 were refused by the local authorities for one reason or another. Of the 2,526 units that were confirmed, not all are occupied at present - 1,600 have been either contracted or delivered, 486 are still under negotiation and 440 are still under consideration, in other words, they have not even got to the stage of contractual arrangements. The remaining 4,048 are no longer under consideration by the local authorities and, by and large, have been disposed of otherwise by NAMA because the local authorities did not want them.

According to NAMA, the reasons for rejection by the local authorities fell into four categories - 1,130 were recorded as "no demand"; 1,175 were recorded as "no sustainable communities"; 84 were not suitable; and 1,579, the largest number, had been available but were no longer available after they were refused. Some 6,574 units could have made a huge difference to the housing crisis - 4,048 units would have made a real difference, but they have now gone to the private sector. The private sector's benefit is the State's loss. The only conclusion one can come to is that a wonderful opportunity to address the homeless situation has been squandered and lost forever.

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government should demand a detailed explanation from each local authority as to why they did not avail of the NAMA offer. One should not forget that this was not done in isolation: it was done with the Department, the housing authorities and the housing agencies. It is incredible that some local authorities did not accept even one offer from NAMA - not one unit that was made available was accepted by some of the local authorities. It boggles the mind that in current circumstances we find that we could have dented the worst problems of the homeless crisis and could have dealt with it very easily by availing of all the units that were available. We now find ourselves in a situation in which the private sector has snapped up those units because the public sector, through the local authorities and the Housing Agency, has not bothered to do so.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Since December 2011, my Department has been working closely with NAMA, local authorities and approved housing bodies to maximise the social housing output available from the properties that are part of the security for loans which NAMA has acquired. To the end of December 2015, a total of 2,000 NAMA residential properties have been secured for social housing use. This comprises over 1,400 completed properties, where tenants are now in situ, and a further 574 that have been contracted and where completion work is ongoing. A further 249 properties are considered to be active transactions where terms are agreed or active negotiation is ongoing by all parties concerned and where a detailed appraisal is being carried out. An additional 341 properties are to be further appraised. Overall, I expect that, at least, in excess of 2,200 units for social housing purposes will be secured from this engagement with NAMA. By the end of December 2015, NAMA had identified a total of 6,634 properties as being potentially available for social housing. Over the last number of years, local authorities and the Housing Agency have been working systematically through these units with NAMA to determine if there is a social housing demand for the properties identified. The result of the effort will produce, as I have stated, more than 2,200 social housing units.

There are a number of reasons why local authorities may determine that units identified by NAMA are not suitable. A small number of units were declined on the basis that they were not suitable for social housing either by virtue of the nature of the development, for example, they were holiday-type developments, the units were in areas of exceptionally high market rents or they required high management services charges and were therefore not viable. Equally, local authorities may have determined that there was no demand for the particular type of units or no demand for social housing in particular locations. In many cases, a demand for a smaller number of properties in the same development may have been confirmed with the balance declined on the basis that there was insufficient demand. Alternatively, there may already have been a high concentration of social housing units in the development and to take further units for social housing would therefore not be consistent with the authority's commitment to mixed tenure and sustainable developments. The properties under consideration are part of the security for loans that NAMA has acquired. In the majority of cases, properties remain in the ownership of the original borrowers. The remaining properties are controlled by receivers appointed by NAMA. Once a demand has been identified, NAMA makes contact with the relevant property owner or receiver to determine if the properties are still available and to discuss how these properties can be best utilised.

In some cases, while the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, initially had identified units as potentially available for social housing, when the local authority confirmed an interest in that property it emerged the unit subsequently had been sold or let by the relevant receiver or owner.

Overall, my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Kelly, and I are confident that local authorities have utilised every available opportunity to secure social housing units in this way in an effort to meet the housing needs of families in their areas, including those who are homeless.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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While I find it hard to disagree with the Minister of State, in this case I must. I do not accept the local authorities could refuse nearly two thirds of the houses that had been identified as potential social housing properties by NAMA between December 2011 and December 2015 and that the agency would sell them off to the private sector, which snapped them up. I am not satisfied the reasons given by the local authorities are adequate. I note 1,130 were recorded in the category "no demand" according to the local authorities. What does "no demand" mean? There is huge demand for housing. A further 1,275 units were recorded in the category "no sustainable communities" or, in other words, there were too many units on offer. How does one determine there are too many units on offer when one has a housing crisis? The local authorities decided not to take them. A total of 84 units were recorded as not suitable, albeit not because it was not financially viable for them to be acquired or leased. The local authorities did not wish to get into the business of management but I do not accept that reason either. A further 1,579 units, which is the largest category, were recorded as being no longer available. Of course they no longer are available, as four years went by and NAMA will not wait forever. The receiver has a duty to sell or the owner will sell if the local authorities do not act in time. This is an extremely flimsy argument on the part of the local authorities. They literally have reneged on their responsibility as the housing authorities in Ireland. Had those additional 4,000-plus units come into circulation despite the aforementioned categories, the housing crisis could have been dealt with much more effectively. I must state that a more thorough and more detailed explanation is required from the local authorities as to why they turned down these units. There are 31 local authorities, some of which turned everything down. Others, such as Dublin City Council, rejected two thirds of them but the current position is that local authorities are trying to find as many units of accommodation as they can, anywhere, to try to house families that are homeless or are in severe need of housing.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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I do not necessarily disagree with the Deputy that we should have acted sooner. We all should have done many things before we reached this point. I must admit delivery was extremely slow in the early stages of this process, given the mechanism for delivery of social housing was novel to all parties concerned. Such novelty was accompanied by the added complexity of getting agreement from multiple parties operating within an environment subject to a range of legal and financial constraints. Against this backdrop, it is fair to state that significant progress has been made. I am satisfied that the social housing potential of the approximately 4,000 units that are no longer under consideration has been explored in depth. Many of these units were in areas of low demand while in areas where demand is high, such as Dublin, the list of units has been reviewed with units reconsidered when circumstances change. There will continue to be active, ongoing engagement between NAMA and local authorities in respect of those units that remain under consideration for social housing.