Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way he proposes to address the rehousing of the 19,880 persons and families on the Dublin City Council housing list; the way he proposes to address the rehousing of the thousands of persons and families on the Fingal housing list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16954/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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On 16 June I launched the Government's new housing policy statement which will serve as a framework for a sequence of legislative and policy initiatives in the short to medium term. Based on a number of fundamental principles and goals that will form the foundation of a substantial reform programme, the new framework for housing policy responds to current and emerging conditions in the housing sector, taking account of the dramatic cycle of rapid growth and sudden collapse in the residential property market. The centrepiece of the approach is to chart a way forward for housing policy in Ireland by placing greater emphasis on:

· choice;

· equity across housing tenures; and

· delivering quality outcomes for the resources invested.

In terms of the delivery of social housing, the policy statement clearly identifies that the main focus in terms of supports provided by Government will be on meeting the most acute needs – the housing support needs of those unable to provide for their accommodation from own resources.

The financial parameters in which we will be operating for the coming years rule out a return to very large capital funded construction programmes by local authorities. Nevertheless, we are committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to social housing support needs through a variety of mechanisms including through increased provision of social housing.

Delivery of social housing will be significantly facilitated through more flexible funding models such as RAS and leasing, but the Government is also committed to developing other funding mechanisms that will increase the supply of permanent new social housing. Such mechanisms will include options to purchase, build to lease, the sourcing of loan finance by approved housing bodies for construction and acquisition. There is also obvious potential, across a range of housing programmes, for the Government's objective of sourcing and providing suitable residential units for use as social housing, to be aligned with the commercial objectives of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).