Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views on whether setting up funding models in conjunction with various private equity funds is the most efficient way to provide social and affordable housing to deal with the current crisis. [18460/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In seeking to address the shortage of housing supply I am open to considering different delivery models, including those that utilise private sector funding to deliver additional units to be used for social housing and for affordable rental, whilst at the same time providing value for money. To this end, three specific measures are currently being developed and implemented by my Department.

The Programme for a Partnership Governmentprovides that, as part of the development process for the Action Plan for Housing, we will explore the option of incentivising developers to build and lease back homes to housing authorities and associations.

The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme currently provides a means whereby properties can be can be built or bought by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) with the combined use of State and private funding, and leased by AHB’s and Local Authorities from private providers, for the provision of social housing. Changes are now being proposed to this scheme to provide revised arrangements which serve to expand these mechanisms to facilitate larger institutional private investors that want to build and lease back homes to housing authorities and associations.

The Programme for Government further provides for the introduction of a new model of affordable rental to deliver more housing options for low income households. €10m has been committed to this scheme in 2016.

The National Development Finance Agency is acting as financial advisor to my Department in respect of these schemes. In addition, a Social Housing Public Private Partnership to provide for a capital investment of €300 million is currently being implemented. This PPP programme will deliver 1,500 social housing units.

Each of these initiatives is in addition to social housing being delivered by other means, including through Exchequer capital spending.