The Social Housing Strategy 2020 has been approved by Government and includes a commitment for significant funding for the social housing targets it contains. The Strategy will support an additional 35,000 new social housing units to be delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies through a combination of building, purchase and leasing schemes. The estimated cost to the Exchequer for the delivery of these new units is €3.8 billion to 2020.
The funding provided through Budget 2015 will provide the required kick start to delivery under the Strategy, as will the local authority targets that I set in April 2015, of over 22,800 new units to be delivered between 2015 – 2017, with €1.5 billion in provisional funding allocations.
In line with these targets, on 5 May last I announced the first major direct build social housing programme with some 100 separate housing projects, delivering 1,700 new social housing units at a cost of €312 million. Details of these projects are available on my Department's website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm. I will be making further announcements shortly based on local authority proposals to deliver additional new social housing units.
The Social Housing Strategy also provides for a public private partnership programme to invest €300 million in social housing. This is to comprise development of up to 1,500 housing units and the provision of services over a 25-year period following construction. This will include the maintenance and upkeep of the housing, and return of the asset after 25 years in prime condition. The Strategy commits to the provision of these units by the end of 2017. It is intended that the first bundle of PPP sites will have a focus on delivery in the Greater Dublin area.
