Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 135: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in Killarney town there are more than 1,000 applicants on the housing list, with all the houses that are empty if he will be be more proactive in acquiring houses that are empty through a rent to buy, RAS or other such schemes; his plans to deal with this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26091/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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It is a matter for individual housing authorities to identify properties suitable for social housing and to make any associated funding proposals to my Department.

In terms of the delivery of social housing generally, the Government's housing policy statement, published in June 2011, clearly identifies that the priority for Government will be to meet the most acute needs of households applying for social housing support. Delivery of social housing will be significantly facilitated through more flexible funding models such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme 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 and 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).