Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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150. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to contact co-operative housing and DLR with regard to the new social housing development called St. Germaine, in Ballybrack village, to investigate the complaints by residents of major and multiple defects in this new development including serious damp, potentially dangerous electrics and serious, reported fire hazards and many others, to investigate the necessity of an independent assessment and to ensure the residents are informed of these enquiries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42096/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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CALF funding is capital support provided to Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) by local authorities to facilitate the funding of construction, acquisition or refurbishment of new social housing units. This loan facility can support between 25% and 30% of the eligible capital cost of the housing project, with the remaining finance sourced by the AHBs from private lenders (usually the Housing Finance Agency (HFA)). The housing units are provided to local authorities for social housing use under long-term lease arrangements known as Payment and Availability Agreements (P&A Agreement). All contractual agreements are between the AHB and the Local Authority, which in this case is Dún Laoghaire Rathdown (DLR).

Where an AHB has purchased or constructed a property that is in their ownership, the responsibility for management and maintenance of that property is a matter for them to meet, in most cases, from their own income. This income is derived, in the main, from a combination of rent payments from the tenant and monthly payments made by the local authority to the AHB in accordance with a P&A agreement which is in place for each of these properties.

AHBs must also comply with Private Rental Standards and tenancies, which are required to be registered with the Residential Tenancy Board (RTB). Both the AHB and tenant can avail of services through the RTB. Each AHB typically has their own tenant handbook/ tenancy agreement whereby both the roles of the AHB and the tenant are clearly defined.

While, I appreciate your concerns about this development in St. Germaine, as you are aware, Section 63(3) of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that, subject to law, a Local Authority is independent in the performance of its functions. Section 6 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 specifically provides that my power to issue policy directions and guidelines to Local Authority in relation to their housing functions shall not be construed as enabling me to exercise any power or control in relation to any individual case with which a housing authority is or may be concerned.