The National Development Plan, 2000-06 estimates that some 500,000 additional new dwellings will need to be provided over the next ten years to meet demand. To ensure that this demand is met in a coherent and planned way, Part V of the Planning and Development Bill, 1999, will require local authorities to prepare housing strategies as part of their development plans. Each housing strategy must provide for the current and future housing needs in the area of the development plan and should include policies which encourage housing types and sizes which meet the different categories of demand, including the needs of first time buyers and those in need of social housing. I have asked local authority managers to undertake preparatory work on their housing strategies in anticipation of enactment of the Bill. I am satisfied at the level of housing output generally that has been achieved in 1999.
All local authorities have been requested to submit details of their local authority housing programmes for the current year to my Department by the end of January or as soon as possible thereafter. These programmes will form part of the multi annual local authority housing programme which has been introduced this year for the first time with a target of 22,000 starts over the next four years. Under the national development plan the number of households whose social and affordable housing needs will be met over the next four years will be 50,000.