Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

72. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will request the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority to conduct a value-for-money assessment of the approved housing bodies sector, given that there were 495 approved housing bodies listed in his Department’s register as of March 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24995/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As provided for in the Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act 2019, the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) was formally established on 1 February 2021. AHBRA is an independent body tasked with providing the regulation of Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for the purposes of protecting housing assets provided or managed by such bodies.

The register of AHBs previously managed by my Department was officially transferred to the AHBRA on 1 February 2022. The 2019 Act is being commenced on a phased basis to allow for the establishment of the office.

All AHBs are required to adopt the standards for AHBs that are provided for in the 2019 Act and were developed in conjunction with the sector. I approved the standards this year and they are available on the AHBRA’s website (). The standards cover matters relating to corporate governance; financial management and reporting; property and asset management; and tenancy management. The Regulator will monitor compliance by AHBs with the approved standards and will have the power to carry out a standards assessment to assess if an AHB is complying or failing to comply with the standards.

Among the Regulator's other functions will be to publish such information (including statistical information) concerning AHBs as the Regulator considers appropriate. It will be a matter for the Regulator to determine the format for same and the regularity with which they will be published.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

73. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the funding that has been provided to each approved housing body in 2020 and 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24996/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There are a range of funding and delivery mechanisms available to local authorities to deliver social housing supports in partnership with Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). The funding is provided by my Department directly to local authorities, who in turn, advance the funding to the AHBs, as appropriate.

In respect of AHB funding in 2020 and 2021, the funding provided to each individual AHB is not readily available within my Department. Overall, for 2020 and 2021, €514 million and €624 million respectively was provided by my Department to the local authorities in respect of a range of AHB funded schemes.

In respect of homeless expenditure, my Department does not fund the operational costs associated with the provision of any homeless accommodation or services directly but provides funding to housing authorities towards the overall costs incurred in the provision of homeless accommodation. Housing authorities may also incur expenditure on homeless related services outside of the funding arrangements with my Department. Therefore, the amount of funding granted by housing authorities to individual homeless services is a matter for the relevant housing authority. Financial reports from each of the homeless regions, setting out expenditure on homeless services for 2016 - 2019 2021 are published on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/80ea8-homelessness-data/#local-authority-regional-financial-reports.

The Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) was formally established on 1 February 2021 and since 1 January 2022, the new authority is responsible for establishing and maintaining the register of AHBs and for registering organisation as AHBs. All existing 450 AHBs were automatically deemed to be registered with AHBRA as and from 1 January 2022.