Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I, and my officials, engage regularly with NAMA on issues such as social housing and residential supply more generally to benefit from NAMA's understanding and activity in the market; to better understand how NAMA's activity may have an impact on the market and to challenge NAMA to evaluate opportunities in line with objectives that may make a difference in the market.  However, I have not issued any direction regarding NAMA's activities with regard to housing as decisions related to NAMA's portfolio are, ultimately, commercial decisions for the NAMA Board in the context of the Agency's independent mandate to obtain the maximum return to the State.

In this regard, and completely in line with their objectives, NAMA has made, and is making, a very substantial contribution to the supply of properties for social housing.

NAMA has consistently been mindful of commercially attractive opportunities in the social housing sector and has innovated to combine its commercial priorities with due consideration of ancillary social contributions.  In this regard, NAMA has played a very important role in facilitating, on a commercial basis, the supply of social housing from within its existing portfolio.  I am advised that NAMA has offered 6,635 residential units to Local Authorities for social housing. This represents the entirety of vacant residential property within NAMA's portfolio that was available and potentially suitable for social housing. There is extensive detail on this initiative on NAMA's website, and on the Housing Agency's website, www.housing.ie/NAMA.aspx  

Under this initiative, NAMA identified potentially suitable properties to the Housing Agency, who engaged with Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies in order to establish the areas of demand, number, and allocation of properties.  NAMA does not have a role in determining which properties are required by the Housing Agency, Local Authorities, and Approved Housing Bodies, nor the number or allocation of properties accepted.  The onus for determining the suitability of these properties for social housing purposes rests with the Local Authorities, the Housing Agency and the Approved Housing Bodies. Where demand is confirmed for a property, NAMA makes whatever funding is needed, more than €84m to date, to ensure that previously unfinished properties are completed and comply fully with all building standards. 

Following NAMA's identification process, I am advised that Local Authorities confirmed demand for 2,531 of the 6,635 offered units, of which 2,042 have been transferred for social housing at an overall cost to NAMA in excess of €250m.  These 2,042 units represent more than one-third of the 5,700 social housing units made available from all market participants under Part V legislation between 2002 and 2011, when over 550,000 new private housing units were built in the State.

Local Authorities may have a number of reasons for declining identified properties, such as location or wider planning and housing policy considerations.  A further consideration for Local Authorities, when assessing the suitability of identified houses and apartments, is the requirement to provide for an appropriate mix of housing tenures and to avoid undue housing segregation within individual developments and wider residential areas.

The 4,104 residential properties not taken up for social housing have been either sold or rented in the private housing market by NAMA debtors and receivers and, in that way, continue to form part of the market supply of housing.  There were also cases where the related properties were sold or rented by their owners or appointed receivers in the time taken by Local Authorities to assess and confirm demand. 

I am advised that there has been extensive engagement between NAMA and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and all the other stakeholders, including the Housing Agency, Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, on this initiative and all parties have worked extremely hard to ensure that properties for which demand has been confirmed are delivered as quickly as possible, notwithstanding the substantial construction and wider compliance work that is required in many cases.  Furthermore, NAMA will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that the residual units, for which demand has been confirmed by Local Authorities, are delivered in line with local authorities and approved housing bodies entering into contracts to buy or rent the units.

To streamline delivery under this initiative, NAMA established a Special Purpose Company, National Asset Residential Property Services Limited or "NARPS", to purchases suitable properties from NAMA debtors from within the existing NAMA portfolio for onward leasing to local authorities or approved housing bodies on the basis of long-term, commercial, arrangements which include an option to buy. I am advised that NAMA has spent €160m acquiring properties to rent by NARPS to approved housing bodies. NAMA has developed standardised long-term leasing arrangements and attractive lease terms to facilitate this process. NAMA's contribution towards social housing via NARPS is consistent with its commercial remit and is not gifted, or subsidised, in any way.

The issue of social housing is, as the Deputy is aware, directly impacted by the level of housing output generally in the economy. In this regard, I welcome that the NAMA Board has recently announced, following a detailed review of sites securing its loans, that it could be in a position to fund up to 20,000 additional new homes, on a commercial basis, by end-2020. I am advised that approximately 90% of these residential units would be in Dublin and the greater Dublin area, where demand is greatest. NAMA-funded residential developments are subject to the same planning and social housing provisions, including Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), as all other residential development projects in the State. Therefore, the corresponding Part V contribution of 10% social housing units, over the life of the funding programme, will make a significant contribution to future delivery of social housing.

NAMA has indicated that NARPS could be used in certain cases to facilitate the delivery of future Part V housing on new developments funded by NAMA in circumstances where this is the preferred option of the planning authorities. This would mean that NAMA would bear the up-front capital cost of delivering this Part V housing and that such housing will be delivered on-site, in line with Government policy to ensure greater integration in housing.