I propose to take Questions Nos. 736 and 737 together.
The Social Housing Strategy 2020 provides a comprehensive response to the need for social housing and targets the provision of over 110,000 social housing units to 2020, 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.
On 1 April 2015, I announced provisional funding allocations totalling €1.5 billion for all local authorities, to meet an ambitious delivery target of circa 22,900 social housing units out to 2017. Details of the individual targets set for local authorities can be found on my Department’s website at: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41016,en.htm.
To date in 2015, some €493 million has been allocated to local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies for the construction and acquisition of over 2,900 social housing units, full details of which can be found on my Department’s website at the following links: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htmhttp://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm.
In addition, over €91 million worth of housing investment across a range of housing improvement schemes, including support to bring vacant social housing units back into productive use which is an important component to reducing the numbers on the social housing waiting lists, was announced in May 2015. Details of the allocations made to local authorities are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/GeneralNews/MainBody,41581,en.htm.
Delivery by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies is being closely monitored by my Department. Minister of State Coffey and I met with all local authority Chief Executives and Directors of Housing in the past week to review progress in this regard. Information on social housing units constructed and acquired in respect of all local authorities is published on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/FileDownLoad,15291,en.xls .
Indications from the local authorities are that the overall target of 7,000 additional social housing units in 2015 will be achieved.
I am determined that local authorities will have the opportunity to maximise the number of vacant units brought back into productive use this year. Last year local authorities returned 2,300 vacant units under my Department’s capital programme. The target set for this year was 1,000 units. However, based on continuous interaction with local authorities scope for further action has been identified and funding for some 2,500 units has now been put in place for 2015.
The Social Housing Strategy 2020 sets a target of 8,400 households to be supported by the Housing Assistance Payment by end 2015. The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), has been introduced incrementally to 13 local authority areas to date- Limerick City and County Council; Waterford City and County Council; Cork, Louth, Kilkenny, South Dublin, Monaghan, Donegal, Offaly, Carlow, Clare and Tipperary County Councils; and Cork City Council. Dublin City Council is also implementing the HAP pilot scheme for homeless households in the Dublin region on behalf of all four Dublin local authorities. Consideration is currently being given to the sequencing of a further cohort of local authorities to commence HAP in the coming months. To date, over 4,000 HAP tenancies have been set up across the pilot local authority areas. As the HAP scheme is being rolled out on a phased pilot basis, formal targets for individual local authority areas were not set for 2015.
I am confident that by utilising all delivery mechanisms available to them, local authorities will continue to deliver across all programmes in 2015. As outlined above, significant extra funding has been allocated in terms of vacant units. Given the time-lag between approval and delivery in terms of construction projects, acquisitions are a very important part of delivery this year. Local authorities have indicated that the vast bulk of acquisitions are being progressed and will be finalised between now and the end of the year. My Department is working with local authorities to ensure that maximum delivery takes place.
Specific targets for 2016, under both capital and current programmes, will be finalised as part of the annual Estimates process.
