Written answers

Thursday, 17 November 2016

Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government

Social and Affordable Housing

Photo of Dessie EllisDessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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56. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to expand on affordable and co-op housing schemes such as a scheme (details supplied) which recently committed to provide a fully integrated, mixed income, affordable, co-operative housing. [35464/16]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I understand that O’Cualann Co-housing Alliance was one of twenty-five bodies that made a submission to the Social Housing Proposals Clearing House Group in 2015. The Group reported in November 2015, and arising from its work, measures are being developed with a view to better facilitating private investment into social housing. My Department already has a range of funding programmes that support Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) to build or acquire properties for social housing use. For example, the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) operated through my Department currently provides a means whereby properties can be built or bought by AHBs, with the use of private funding, and leased through AHBs and local authorities, for the provision of social housing. This scheme is underpinned by a lease and other legal agreements which provide that rental payments a re made by the State over an agreed long-term time period, typically 20 years, in return for which the housing unit is made available for social housing. 

The Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) provides funding to AHBs for the provision of accommodation for persons with specific categories of housing needs such as homeless and older people, people with disabilities, returning emigrants and victims of domestic violence.

If an AHB is interested in making use of one of these funding programmes, I would advise them to contact the relevant local authority to discuss how best they can work together and access the relevant funding.

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