While Covid is front and centre in people's minds, which is very understandable, other issues are not getting the attention they deserve. One is the jaw-dropping decisions being taken on housing. I want to focus on one of those, namely, the long-term leasing of social housing. Incredibly, social housing is now being actively sold as a financial product. One website states:

There is no requirement to deal with tenants, as local councils (or housing agencies) are your lessees. This is a hands-off situation with no risk of vacancies or the usual tasks associated with managing property lets. The cash comes directly from local government into your bank account, there is no intermediary. Build a portfolio of approved social housing units, houses, and apartments that will be rubber stamped by local councils and housing agencies for long-term leases. Sleep peacefully without worrying about stock markets! Your obligations stop at buildings insurance. There is no local property tax when leases are over 20 years.

This model effectively means developers build housing estates and rather than the State purchasing 10% for social housing at cost price, the properties are leased for 20 or 25 years with a four-year rent review. Houses are refurbished at the end of the lease and handed back to the developer, and presumably the tenant is then chucked out.

The dominant means of delivery of social housing is now Part V and it is increasingly and, in some areas, exclusively delivered through long leasing. Are councils obliged to accept leasing if offered under Part V? Do they really have a choice? The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has stated on the record of the Dáil that it is up to local authorities to decide, but it seems to be a take it or leave it scenario.

I have been told in the House that there has been no change in policy. I have to ask whether the Dáil is being told the truth or are we being misled? In addition, there is little transparency regarding the process in the planning files. Thousands of these tenancies will be in place before people realise they are being taken for complete fools.

An example given on hobbsfinancial.ie is a two-bedroom apartment in Dublin 8. It is stated that the investment, including all acquisition costs, is €290,000 and after 25 years the investor would have earned a rent of €520,000, a profit of €229,000. That is, of course, courtesy of the taxpayer. It goes on to state that the investor will have a refurbished property and no property tax obligations. There will be thousands of these. This may not be a product of Taca or the Galway tent, but it is right out of the same playbook.

Has the Government examined the cost of this? Has it considered it from a societal perspective? What is the Taoiseach's view on social housing being sold as a financial product? Will he change that policy?

I thank the Deputy. The time is up.

The State will end up with nothing at the end of all of this. The housing list will be postponed for another generation. Is that really-----

The broad thrust of Government policy on social housing is to build social housing. We have taken a suite of initiatives. The bulk of construction next year in terms of the provision of social housing will be through approved housing bodies, AHBs, which have consistently been building social housing on behalf of the State, but also the councils. Direct builds will comprise the large bulk of social housing output, where councils, along with AHBs, commission, provide and allocate housing. The majority of 9,500 units provided last year were constructed.

However, a number of other mechanisms will be used. The Minister is clearly of the view that the majority of provision has to be through councils and AHBs, while also getting involved in affordable housing. We have to dramatically increase the number of social housing units we make available through direct build, Part V and other mechanisms. In many respects, that will remain our emphasis and focus.

We will pursue a number of avenues. We will continue to review them, in particular the cost-benefit analysis, what is most advantageous from the taxpayers' perspective and what provides long-term value for money. We need more activity in the marketplace and more social housing provision than we have had over the past number of years. That is what the Government is committed to doing through a number of schemes and mechanisms.

In the initial period, leasing has been one of those options to create quick access to properties, in particular in addressing homelessness during the Covid phase. We believe that there is an opportunity in the context of Covid to get the homelessness figures down and have more permanent provision of housing, in particular for single people who are homeless, which is a significant proportion of those who are homeless.

Social housing will predominantly involve councils and AHBs commissioning the building of local authority and social housing. That is the broad thrust of policy.

I accept that building needs to happen more quickly and output needs to increase. I do not think we disagree about that. That is not the issue I am trying to raise. I do not see the evidence on the ground. Housing is the number one issue I hear about on my phone, and has been for the past ten or 12 years. I am acutely aware of it.

This is the most expensive and least satisfactory way of delivering social housing. Social housing is now a financial product.

I see no evidence on the ground of scaling up. I see turnkey and long-term leasing in terms of how housing is manifesting in my area. Increasingly, I am seeing that in some of the Dublin local authorities. Is the Taoiseach certain about what he is telling is? Has there been a shift in policy because I am only seeing turnkey and long-term leasing? Increasingly, it is long-term leasing with a council being told to take it or leave it. It is being actively promoted by the Department.

Thank you Deputy. The time is up.

Approximately €3.3 billion has been provided for housing, a 24% increase on budget 2020. Clearly, in the first three months of the year Covid has restricted output. That is obvious, because of the level 5 lockdown and our decision to reduce mobility. That has had an impact on the first three months of the year.

The €3.3 billion available is the highest investment in housing by any Government in a single year. Some €500 million in additional capital has been provided for the delivery of 12,750 new social homes for people on the social housing list. That is positive.

Of that, 9,500 will be direct builds. The Deputy has picked one particular scheme, which represents a minority of what will be provided, and presented it as the main plank of Government policy, which it is not. The main plank is 9,500 of 12,750, which will be new builds through approved housing bodies and through local authorities. I agree that we need to get output up and we have to use as many mechanisms as we can to get output up for social housing.