Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 November 2017
277. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked 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]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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.
