Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 April 2015
171. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the way he expects to deliver 5,000 new housing units under the rental accommodation scheme, the social housing leasing initative and others schemes from the private market, in view of the severe shortage of private rental properties and the slowing of private housing construction. [13431/15]
View answerI am fully aware of the many challenges facing both the private and public housing sectors. Increasing housing supply is a critical issue and that is why, in May 2014, the Government published Construction 2020 - A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector. While the Strategy’s overarching objective is to put the construction sector as a whole on a sustainable footing, it sets out a strategic approach to the provision of housing, through the delivery of specific, time-bound actions. My Department is the lead Department for a range of actions, in the areas of housing and planning.
Under the relevant actions in the Strategy national targets for delivery of social housing on a local authority by local authority basis for 2015 are to be agreed, and work on targets for subsequent years initiated, by quarter 1 2015. This process is well underway and all local authorities have submitted delivery proposals, across all delivery mechanisms, for the years 2015 to 2017, including their programmes in respect of the leasing scheme and Rental Accommodation Scheme. These have been examined in my Department and the final targets are currently being finalised.
Total housing provision for 2015 will result in an investment of almost €800 million across a range of housing programmes. With significant investment supporting the Strategy and commitment from local authorities to reach their delivery targets, I expect that some 7,400 new social housing units will be provided in 2015 with 3,000 units being provided under the Social Housing Leasing Initiative and 2,000 new units under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS).
