Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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282. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current status of the €70 million Housing Agency revolving fund; what has been agreed as terms of reference in terms of the review of this revolving fund; and the timeline for the review to be completed. [9826/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The €70 million revolving Housing Agency Acquisitions Fund (HAA fund) was established with effect from the 1 January 2017 with the objective of acquiring vacant property portfolios from banks and financial institutions that could then be used for social housing. The target for the HAA fund was to acquire 1,600 units over a four year period to 2020 with this target subsequently extended out to 2021.

The HAA fund has enabled the Housing Agency to actively engage with banks and investment companies in relation to the acquisitions of properties. Through the provision of direct access to capital funding for the Housing Agency, the aim was to simplify the current acquisition process for vacant portfolio purchases; speed up the acquisition process and to encourage investors to make additional supply available. The HAA fund is replenished by the Housing Agency through the sale of units primarily to the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector and the funds received are recycled back into the fund for future acquisitions.

This was intended to be a medium term initiative, targeting the vacant property portfolios of financial institutions and investment companies, in direct response to the social housing shortage that would be designed to complement, not displace, ongoing targeted acquisition activity by local authorities and AHBs.

As at Q4 2022, 903 units were acquired under the HAA fund programme. A further 52 properties were delivered under the HAA fund programme but bought directly by local authorities in 2019/2020 using capital funding through the Social Housing Capital Investment Programme. The Housing Agency also completed the acquisition of 582 properties while acting on behalf of local authorities.

Under the commitment in Housing For All, my Department completed a review of the HAA fund which investigated the challenges faced by the fund and explored opportunities that centred on potentially repurposing the fund to support other initiatives within Housing for All. My Department has engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform on these proposals. Most recently, my Department further explored the scope of the HAA fund to add to the social housing system through converting non-residential premises or larger residential units into smaller units and, as appropriate, some communal / community use, particularly for social housing applicants experiencing homelessness. My Department is currently engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform on this proposal.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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283. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current status of the review of CALF funding scheme for approved housing bodies, as promised in Housing for All, to be concluded by the 3rd quarter 2022; if he is aware of any impact of this delay on the progress of existing CALF applications; the engagement there has been with officials in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on this; and when the changes to the scheme are likely take effect. [9827/23]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Housing for All (September 2021), is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 new homes per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes by 2030. As part of the objective to increase social housing delivery, the plan recognises the significant role that Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) have played as partners in social housing delivery and will continue to play.

Over the past decade, the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) funding model has worked very successfully. Under the Housing for All Action Plan Update (November 2022), a specific objective, Action 4.1 is to “review the structure and operation of CALF to assess whether any refinements to the facility are required to support delivery of social housing by the AHB sector across a wider range of Local Authority areas, and to identify resulting actions for implementation.”

My Department, in conjunction with colleagues in the Housing Agency and relevant stakeholders, prepared a number of draft recommendations and a draft report on the CALF Review. I have considered these draft recommendations and my Department is currently finalising discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

I intend to make an announcement in relation to this shortly.