Housing Minister Jan O'Sullivan has dismissed the suggestion of independent TD John Halligan to turn suitable housing owned by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) into social housing.
Ms O'Sullivan said the proposal was not feasible because the majority of properties being considered for social housing are offered as collateral for loans held by NAMA and in most cases those properties are still owned by the original borrower.
Limerick-based O'Sullivan also said that NAMA's legal obligations prevented it from giving away properties for free.
She said that where appropriate, properties would be provided through the social housing leasing initiative with either a local authority leasing the properties from an owner or receiver or a housing body leasing or buying the property and then leasing it back to the State.
