Local Authority Housing Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2015

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

Questions (589, 590, 592, 593)

Dessie Ellis

Question:

589. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of local authority housing unit builds completed by county in 2015 to date, in tabular form. [44193/15]

Dessie Ellis

Question:

590. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of local authority housing units builds commenced but not competed by county in 2015 to date, in tabular form. [44194/15]

Dessie Ellis

Question:

592. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of new social housing units and the scheme under which they have been delivered, in 2015 to date, in tabular form. [44196/15]

Dessie Ellis

Question:

593. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of local authority units that will be built and commenced by county in 2016, in tabular form. [44197/15]

Written answers

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government

I propose to take Questions Nos. 589, 590, 592 and 593 together.

Information on all new social housing units constructed and acquired in respect of all local authorities and approved housing bodies is published on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/StatisticsandRegularPublications/HousingStatistics/FileDownLoad,15291,en.xls.

In addition, information supplied to my Department by local authorities identifies 112 construction ‘starts’ over the 9 month period to the end of September 2015 in respect of local authority contracted projects; I expect projects involving further significant local authority ‘starts’ to be reported in due course for Q4 2015.  Equivalent information in relation to ‘starts’ in respect of Approved Housing Body projects  in the same period is not readily available.

On 1 April 2015, I announced provisional funding allocations totalling €1.5 billion for all local authorities, to meet the delivery target of circa 22,900 social housing units out to 2017 of the Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020. 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.

In line with the targets, a major social housing construction and acquisition programme was kick-started as part of announcements of new local authority and approved housing body projects in May and July of this year. These projects will see the delivery of almost 3,000 new housing units at a value of almost half a billion euros, covering all 31 local authorities; full details can be found on my Department’s website at the following links: http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm

http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm.

It will be these projects, in addition to projects announced by my Department in March 2014, details of which are available at http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,36901,en.htm, that will be the construction projects to commence and complete in 2016. It is not possible to confirm the exact breakdown of local authority units to be commenced in 2016 on a county by county basis given that all projects must undergo planning and this and other factors can have a direct impact on the timing for the advancement of construction projects.