Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 June 2015
231. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide an estimate of the total housing need, both public and private, currently and for the next ten years. [24167/15]
View answerThe Housing Agency estimates the future housing supply requirements for the period 2014 to 2018 at just under 80,000 dwellings across 272 urban settlements nationally, an average of 16,000 units per annum over the five years. It estimates that 47% of total supply over the period is required across the Dublin Region. The Agency notes that 57% of all households in the Dublin region over this period will be for one and two persons, while a further 18% will be for three person households.
Analysis by the ESRI has estimated that, in coming years, increases in population will result in the formation of at least 20,000 new households each year, each requiring a separate dwelling. In addition, a number of existing dwellings will disappear through redevelopment or dilapidation. The results suggest an on-going need for at least 25,000 new dwellings a year over the coming fifteen years.
In response to this projected demand, the Government’s published Construction 2020 in May 2014. This strategy is aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors to ensure that any critical bottlenecks that might impede the sector in meeting the forecasted residential demand are addressed.
A key action under Construction 2020 is a commitment to put in place a National Framework for Housing Supply, ensuring a balanced approach in which the supply of housing is matched with projected demand, and in which emerging imbalances can be identified and rectified at an early stage.
A core aspect of the National Housing Framework is the analysis of supply and projected demand data, broken down on a national and local basis, with information on housing types and sizes a key feature. This action also includes a commitment to publish an annual National Statement of Projected Housing Supply and Demand. The Housing Agency, in consultation with my Department, is leading on delivery of this action and I expect the first of these Statements to be finalised in the coming weeks. On receipt of the final Statement, I will consider its contents, in the context of future housing policy development.
In terms of social housing need, the latest summary of social housing assessments, which was carried out as of 7 May 2013, showed that there were 89,872 households on local authority waiting lists at that date. The full 2013 results are available on my Department’s website at:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad,34857,en.pdf .
In addition, the Housing Agency carried out an analysis of the results of the 2013 summary of social housing assessments and on the basis of certain assumptions, and taking account of housing support mechanisms, including the progressive roll-out of HAP over the years ahead, identified a need for an additional 35,000 properties for social housing.
In this regard, the Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020, published in November 2014, targets the provision of over 110,000 social housing units, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme. This will address the needs of the 90,000 on the housing waiting list in full, with flexibility to meet potential future demand.
Moreover, in order to ensure that the most up to date and comprehensive data is available relating to the numbers applying for social housing support, the Strategy includes a commitment to increase the regularity of the summary of social housing assessments by undertaking it on annual basis from 2016 onwards.
