Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The context of the question that was supplied to me is a little different from what he has asked today. I shall endeavour to answer all of his queries to the best of my ability.

Let me be clear, I took that debate in December. I thought I went out of my way on that occasion to praise the work done by Mr. Connolly and Rural Resettlement Ireland over the years. I wish to make it clear that Mr. Connolly and Rural Resettlement Ireland have done great work. I am very conscious of the more than 800 families that have been helped. I have watched numerous programmes that featured the work. Certainly, the debate on the previous occasion should not have left Mr. Connolly with the wrong impression. If I need to talk to him directly, I shall do so.

The original question tabled by the Senator did not feature this matter so I may be unable to reply to everything. We have discussed this matter on two occasions. I have definitely discussed it with Senator Conway and with other Oireachtas members from the Clare area. I have complimented and recognised the work of Rural Resettlement Ireland. Mr. Connolly has engaged with the Minister's officials about ways to develop and fund new rural resettlement projects. There is a homeless situation in many of our larger cities and urban areas, yet there are many vacant properties in rural areas. We are trying to join the dots in terms of this matter. We have engaged with Mr. Connolly because of his expertise and we are happy to continue to do so. There should not any doubt about the quality of his work or that of his organisation. If anything I said last December gave that impression, then I am happy to correct same.

I shall clarify matters that relate to the rural resettlement initiative. From 2011 to 2016, my Department provided €696,228 to Clare County Council. This money was solely in respect of 21 properties developed by Rural Resettlement Ireland. The funding was provided under the terms of the capital loan and subsidy scheme, CLSS.The capital loan and subsidy scheme, CLSS, provides capital funding via the local authorities to the approved housing bodies, including Rural Resettlement Ireland, to construct social housing for those on the waiting lists of the local authorities. More than 10,000 social homes have been delivered through the CLSS since it was commenced in 1991. Under the CLSS arrangements, local authorities access funding from the Housing Finance Agency through loan finance arrangements. In turn, the local authorities provide this funding to the approved housing bodies by way of a non-refundable loan, provided that the AHB complies with the terms and conditions of the CLSS. The local authorities repay the loan finance received from the Housing Finance Agency over a 30-year period using the funding they receive twice yearly from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government. Of the overall amount of €696,228 provided from 2011 to 2016 by the Department to Clare County Council in respect of 21 Rural Resettlement Ireland properties, the sum of €662,220 relates to the servicing of the loans the council received from the Housing Finance Agency. A smaller amount of €34,008 relates to the management and maintenance subsidy paid to Clare County Council for the dwellings occupied by tenants of Rural Resettlement Ireland under the terms of the CLSS.

Unlike local authorities, approved housing bodies do not receive capital funding from the Department for the upkeep of their housing stock or for upgrading works. Instead, the approved housing bodies rely on rental income plus the management and maintenance subsidy to maintain their stock. Similar to the funding received for the servicing of the loans, the management and maintenance subsidy is provided to the approved housing bodies via the local authorities. To qualify for the management and maintenance subsidy, dwellings of the approved housing body must be let to tenants approved for housing by the local authority.

To clarify this matter, the figure of €696,228 provided by the Department between 2011 and 2016 relates to the 21 houses developed through the capital loan and subsidy scheme by Rural Resettlement Ireland at various locations in County Clare. The figure is broken into two elements: €662,220 of funding provided by the Department to Clare County Council towards servicing the loans, and the balance of €34,008 for the management and maintenance subsidy paid to Clare County Council. I can confirm, therefore, that none of the funding included in the €696,228 relates to the administration of the rural resettlement initiative. Separately, grant assistance was historically provided by the Department to Rural Resettlement Ireland as a contribution towards its administrative costs. In the five-year period to which Senator Craughwell refers, €30,081 of such funding was provided: €20,081 in 2011 and €10,000 in 2012. I hope this clarifies the matter and it was certainly not my intention in December that there would be any doubt around that. I am glad to have had the opportunity to clear that up. I am sorry that I did not realise that was reason the Senator asked the question in the first place.