I propose to take Questions Nos. 1217 and 1218 together.
There are no funding or grant schemes of the type referred to as private companies do not provide social housing directly. Funding is provided to local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for social housing through which they can, in certain circumstances, acquire or lease housing built by private companies in order to use it for social housing.
The Deputy may also wish to note that Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI), which comes under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Finance, was established in December 2018 to lend to small and medium sized builders and developers for commercially viable residential developments, particularly those situated outside the State's major urban centres. HBFI has been provided with access to €750 million of funding from the Irish Strategic Investment Fund, which is expected to facilitate the delivery of 7,500 homes over the next five years.
Since its formal launch, I understand that HBFI has engaged actively with small and medium sized builders and developers. Information in relation to HBFI is available at www.hbfi.ie/.