Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 4 and 5 relate to consequential amendments. Amendment No. 4 deletes the previous section 26. Section 26 contained three amendments to Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000. My amendments Nos. 8 to 12, inclusive, insert a new Part 6 into the Bill containing a number of amendments to Part V of the 2000 Act. As such, the three amendments that were in section 26 have been moved to the new Part 6.

On amendment No. 5, section 10 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 is the general provision listing the various types of housing services with which local authorities may be engaged in providing. It was considered that the provision of cost rental housing could be read into section 10 of the 2009 Act, since section 10(a)(ii) refers to the provision of “affordable housing”. However, to avoid any ambiguity and after consultation with the Office of the Attorney General, amendment No. 5 was added as a consequential on Part 3 of this Bill introducing cost rental housing as a new form of tenure because the involvement of local authorities in the provision of this type of housing is envisaged. Accordingly, this drafting amendment will insert into section 10 of the 2009 Housing Act a new paragraph (e) referencing cost rental dwellings as an additional type of housing service that a local authority may provide. This will provide a clear statutory basis for local authorities engaging in the provision of cost rental housing.

While it is a technical amendment, it is very significant. The Bill means there will be a national cost rental scheme for the first time which will initially be rolled out through our partners in the approved housing bodies. Last week I had the pleasure of opening the first 25 homes, which tenants will occupy in around four weeks. It has moved very quickly. This amendment also ensures that as a housing tenure, cost rental is seen as one that can be provided through a local authority. In the very near future, they will have a role in delivering cost rental.