Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

277. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when legislation to underpin statutorily and regulate the work of housing voluntary bodies will be brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47371/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness recognises the key contribution that Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) make to the delivery of social housing and in this context it is important that AHBs have the capability to contribute to the additional social housing targeted over the period to 2021.

To this end, the housing delivery capacity of AHBs will need to expand greatly and they will require significantly increased external investment. AHBs that have statutorily regulated standards of governance and management capacity will be better able to access private or loan finance.

The proposed Housing (Regulation of Registered Housing Providers) Bill and the underlying policy, which was formulated in consultation with the sector, intends to establish a regulator to oversee the effective governance, financial management and performance of voluntary and co-operative housing bodies. The Bill aims to safeguard public and private investment in the sector, to rationalise and enable increased supply from the voluntary and co-operative housing sector and to ensure that the assets built through investments in the sector are managed sustainably and retained for the purpose for which they were created.  The statutory regulatory framework will provide further assurances to investors, tenants, the Government and to the sector itself that social housing providers operate in a well-regulated and stable environment.

My Department continues to work with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to finalise the text of the Bill for publication as soon as possible.  The complex nature of some of the issues related to transitioning from voluntary to statutory regulation has required additional consultation and consequential drafting. Notwithstanding this, I expect the Bill to be published before the conclusion of the current Dáil session. Until such time as the legislation is enacted and the statutory system of regulation is put in place, the interim regulatory arrangements in operation since 2014 will remain in operation.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

278. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to carry out value-for-money audits of State expenditure on housing voluntary and advocacy bodies in addition to existing annual audits of the sector by the Comptroller and Auditor General and his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47372/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Government Departments undertake expenditure reviews over three-year cycles; the current cycle covers the period 2015-2017.  The reviews may take the form of value for money reviews (VFMs), which are evaluations of major spending programmes, or focussed policy assessments (FPAs), which are smaller-scale exercises.

Departments commit to specific reviews in each cycle.  In the current cycle, my Department is undertaking a value for money review on expenditure in the homelessness area and focussed policy assessments on housing adaptation grants and Met Éireann’s international subscriptions.  The Met Éireann FPA is completed and published while the other reviews are underway.

The selection of a programme for a value for money review is informed by a number of criteria including the volume of expenditure (generally greater than €100 million); the relative impact of the programme area selected; and the availability of data.  No decisions have yet been made in relation to the choice of programmes for review in the 2018-2020 cycle.

In addition to this cycle of expenditure reviews, the Local Government Audit Service (LGAS) of my Department carries out VFM studies on local authority operations with a view to identifying best practice and recommending ways of improving existing procedures, practices and systems, thereby promoting efficiency and cost effectiveness.  In December 2015 the LGAS published a report on the oversight role of local authorities in the provision of social housing by Approved Housing Bodies under the main funding schemes.

In 2014, my Department established an interim Regulation Committee for the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Sector under the auspices of the Housing Agency, which, supported by a Regulation Office based within the Agency, oversees implementation of a voluntary regulation code (VRC) for AHBs.  At present, 249 AHBs have signed up to the VRC accounting for more than 90% of the total estimated housing stock in the sector.

As part of any application for housing funding from my Department and local authorities, each AHB is required to furnish proof of compliance with the VRC.  Only those AHBs that have undergone a satisfactory assessment as part of the annual assessment process by the Regulation Office are considered eligible for funding.

The Housing (Regulation of Registered Housing Providers) Bill and the underlying policy, which was formulated in consultation with the sector, intends to establish a Regulator to oversee the effective governance, financial management and performance of voluntary and co-operative housing bodies.  My Department is working with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to finalise the text of the Bill for publication during the current Oireachtas session.  Until such time as the legislation is enacted and the statutory system of regulation is put in place, the interim regulatory arrangements in operation since 2014 will remain in operation.