Review of the classification of approved housing bodies as on balance sheet by EUROSTAT

QUESTION

To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the status of the review of the classification of approved housing bodies as on balance sheet by EUROSTAT; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

My Department is currently engaging with Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector representative bodies  and examining, in detail, proposals which were presented by those bodies, as a possible means to achieve reclassification. In this regard, my Department met with the Irish Council for Social Housing on 16 October 2019 and is scheduled to meet with the Housing Alliance in the coming weeks.
The proposals are complex as they cut across a wide range of social housing policy issues and will require extensive analysis. These engagements are helping to inform a pathway to consider the range of issues involved. As part of this process, my Department is also liaising with the Department of Finance and the CSO to ensure any new or additional information can be brought forward for consideration.