Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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287. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the action he has taken to investigate with credit unions the way in which they can support social housing through the voluntary housing service, as promised in the programme for Government. [32103/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The agreed Programme for a Partnership Government recognises the potential role that credit unions can play in housing finance and supports the efforts of the Registrar of Credit Unions at the Central Bank to gradually lift current lending restrictions as appropriate, including for housing. The Programme further provides that we will investigate with all stakeholders how credit unions can support the delivery of social housing.

The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness emphasises the need to look at new ways of funding social housing delivery, in particular the need to provide structural, funding and policy supports to increase delivery of social housing by Approved Housing Bodies. In that context, it states that support will be provided to an Irish Council for Social Housing/sector led new special purpose vehicle, involving investors which could potentially include the credit union movement.

Credit union representative bodies have also set out a proposed means by which funding could be provided by credit unions to Approved Housing Bodies for the development of social housing. My Department and the Department of Finance have met with these bodies on a number of occasions to examine how credit unions can assist in the area of financing social housing delivery.

The Central Bank commenced a number of new regulations for credit unions on 1 January 2016. Prior to their commencement, following careful consideration, the Central Bank made a number of modifications, including to Regulation 25(2), which makes reference to the fact that the Central Bank may prescribe, in accordance with section 43 of the Credit Union Act 1997, further classes of investments for credit unions which may include investments in projects of a public nature. The effect of these modifications is that regulation 25(2) now provides that investment in projects of a public nature can include, but are not limited to, investments in social housing projects.

I acknowledge the modifications made by the Central Bank and the willingness of credit unions to actively seek a role in financing the delivery of social housing.

Conscious of the independence of the Central Bank in its regulatory role in respect of credit unions, bilateral engagement has taken place between my Department and the Department of Finance to consider the potential regulatory and legislative implications of credit union involvement in the social housing sector. My Department and the Department of Finance met with the Central Bank on 21 April 2016 to provide information of a technical nature in relation to social housing funding arrangements. This was with a view to assisting the Central Bank in understanding how these arrangements operate, as it deals with issues arising from proposals put forward for credit union investment in social housing.

Ultimately, the funding mechanisms required will have to be put in place in the first instance by the credit union bodies themselves, with the support of their members and with the agreement of the Central Bank. My Department will continue to contribute to this process by providing necessary technical advice and support.