The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) the umbrella body of 300 non-profit housing associations has welcomed plans to have 2000 properties within the NAMA portfolio to be released for social housing in 2012.

"While progress has previously been slow in encouraging individual owners and their financiers in the private sector to lease out or sell their vacant properties for social housing purposes on a significant scale, having one body such as NAMA should provide much greater co-ordination and certainty of supply of properties for social housing. The financing for those units will be the key factor in ensuring the delivery of such units in a timely manner," said Donal McManus, ICSH Executive Director.

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"Non-profit housing associations would be keen to play their part in this initiative and build upon previous work where 58 apartments in the NAMA portfolio were acquired by a housing association in Sandyford in Dublin as part of a mixed tenure housing development," Mr McManus added.

There is still a growing demand for social housing with waiting lists having increased from 56,000 to over 98,000 between 2008 and 2011. With the dramatic increase in demand for social using, vacant properties can be used for housing families, single people, older people, the homeless and people with disabilities.

"Social housing is one part of the housing system that is not suffering from a lack of demand," Mr McManus concluded.