Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

There was wide debate on affordable housing when this Bill was before the Seanad. The changing market conditions show the need for changes in legislation to allow local authorities to sell affordable housing units in a more flexible manner than was previously permitted under legislation. It was necessary to address that and this Bill goes a long way towards implementing that flexibility in the market which will allow people who aspire to home ownership to get on the property ladder and own their own house. With market conditions in flux at present it is difficult to determine what is an affordable house. Three years ago we fully understood what an affordable house was and how it could benefit people who wished to own a house. However, with the fall in the market value of all houses, flexibility is required to reflect the current reality. Local authorities need flexibility to give people the opportunity to buy such units.

Will the Minister clarify the number of affordable housing units held by local authorities at present? A substantial number of the units held by local authorities throughout the country are unsold. There are still housing lists in the local authorities. Where affordable housing units are not and cannot be sold even though they have been on the market for some time, has the Minister issued guidelines to the local authorities to advise them that they can recategorise these units so they can, for example, introduce them into the incremental purchase scheme or offer them as social housing to people on the housing lists? That further flexibility is now required. Perhaps the Minister will deal with it through a circular or guidelines to local authorities and housing directors.

That would be a welcome development to address the current market conditions and the requirements of people on housing lists or those who might wish to buy houses. The authorities could free them from the affordable sector and make it more flexible for people to move into those accommodations. The Minister is aware that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of these units in the ownership of local authorities as a result of the Part V arrangements. To some degree local authorities have been victims of their own success in this regard given that they acquired many units under Part V. Now, however, the units are idle and vacant. The flexibility in the legislation must be extended to allow those units to be inhabited and to accommodate families. I await the Minister's views in this regard. I believe this must be done and local authorities must understand clearly that they have such flexibility, if that is the case.