Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus a chuid oifigigh don phlé ar an mBille seo. Tacaíonn Sinn Féin leis an reachtaíocht atá os ár gcomhair inniu. I welcome the Minister and his officials to the House for this debate.Sinn Féin welcomes the Bill and is strongly supportive of its enactment. As colleagues have said, the Bill establishes a regulator for approved housing bodies but also puts them on a statutory footing.

While voluntary housing bodies and co-operative housing models are somewhat underutilised, it is our hope that once we can establish a statute in this area, we can allow these types of models to flourish. Many of the bodies do great work in providing housing, for example, to the elderly, those with disabilities and the homeless, in respect of whom our State has not delivered. It should be noted that, as with other registered charities, the bodies act where the State has failed. Ideally, the State would have such a robust social and affordable housing model that the objectives of the bodies would be met and there would be no need for them to intervene. While these bodies are approved under the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 for the purpose of accessing assistance from local authorities for housing provision, some level of independence is needed for the sector, and the execution of the Bill needs to be robust in that regard.

I agree with my Dáil colleague, Deputy Ó Broin. I, too, am disappointed that social housing is exempt from these regulations. While it is always the aim of the State to build good social housing that lasts, it does not always work out that way. I believe the State should subject housing, both public and private, to a high threshold of standards. With the lack of application of the minimum rental standards regulations and the fire safety defects that are rife in apartment blocks, we are entering a quality crisis as well as a quantity one. In this regard, tenants should have a voice. While social housing stock is severely limited, not having the same resolution process means a tiered version of tenants' rights, which is unreasonable.

We have concerns regarding EUROSTAT and the Central Statistics Office in respect of the level of Government control of the sector. These concerns relate not just to financing but also to governance and policy. If we were to manage getting approved housing bodies off the balance sheet, matters such as a no-deal Brexit would not hinder them to any great degree, bearing in mind the current economic framework. Where capital expenditure is limited, it will have consequences for delivery. I would be interested in the Minister's thoughts on this.

I would like the Minister to give us an update on the establishment of a special purpose vehicle for credit unions. The credit unions can and want to make a contribution in housing. They have the ability to invest in approved housing bodies. Society will reap the benefits as more housing stock will be generated as a result. The Irish League of Credit Unions has the capacity to provide €347 million annually for an approved housing body loan for social housing. It proposes to build up incrementally to a funding position of €1.42 billion over the period of six years. It seems to me like a no-brainer if the Government is ambitious in allowing this and establishing good regulation in that regard.

Sinn Féin will support the Bill. I hope the Minister will take away from this debate the fact that there is a genuine belief in approved housing bodies in both the Dáil and Seanad, but we need further discussions outside the scope of this Bill on how we allow them to flourish.