Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour)
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1502. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider the setting up of a national property authority, containing persons from all aspects of the property industry including bodies involved in the provision of social housing, with a purpose of advising and offering guidelines to policy makers. [33299/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Government is committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to social housing needs through a variety of mechanisms. On 14 May 2014, the Government published Construction 2020 – A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector. The Strategy contains 75 Actions in total and my Department, together with the Housing Agency, will be involved in the delivery of over 30 of those. Under Action 8 of Construction 2020, a Social Housing Strategy will be published following consideration by Government in the coming weeks. To assist in the development of the Strategy, the Housing Agency invited submissions from the public by 31 July 2014. Further information is available at the following weblink:

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My intention is that the Strategy will be both challenging and innovative, and will provide the basis for an enhanced approach to social housing provision in Ireland. It will contain clear measurable actions that are to be taken to increase the supply of social housing and, most importantly, reduce the number of people on waiting lists.

I have no plans to establish a National Property Authority of the kind referred to in the Question. However, I am committed to ensuring continued consultation and engagement on policy development and implementation in order to ensure the widest range of inputs into those processes.