Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 May 2017
51. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if further legislative provisions are required in order to ensure a more rapid response to the housing crisis including the immediate provision of modular housing as and when required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25019/17]
View answer123. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the extent to which the construction and provision of modular housing of a high quality has been perfected with a view to early impact on homelessness and local authority waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25144/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 123 together.
The publication of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness has seen a new level of ambition in respect of tackling the challenges in the housing sector and I am confident it represents a well-judged and comprehensive response to the urgent need to increase housing supply generally and to accelerate the delivery of social housing.
To support the ambitious target of 47,000 new social housing units, I have secured €5.35 billion in exchequer investment over the period to 2021. This comprises some €4.5 billion in capital funding and €844 million in support of programmes funded from current expenditure. Under Pillar 2 of Rebuilding Ireland, my Department is working closely with all local authorities in relation to increasing and accelerating the delivery of a range of social housing programmes and supports, including rapid build homes.
Over 500 rapid build homes are currently advancing through various stages of delivery, including construction, and a further 500 rapid build homes will be advanced in 2017, with another 500 units to be delivered in 2018. Sites for rapid build schemes are currently being identified in Louth, Wicklow, Kildare, Meath, Cork, Waterford, Galway and Limerick.
Local authorities have been responding positively to the need for a ramp-up in rapid build delivery. The establishment of a framework of rapid build contractors by the Office of Government Procurement means that local authorities across the country will be able to run quicker procurement competitions and advance rapid build projects to site more efficiently and effectively. In addition, the Part 8 planning procedures have been revised to facilitate the acceleration and delivery of local authority own development proposals, including social housing projects and infrastructure servicing housing development.
Other actions are underway by local authorities to respond to housing need and meet the needs of homeless people within their areas. These include targeted acquisitions, the new Repair and Leasing initiative and the range of current-funded programmes, such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme, Housing Assistance Payment and various leasing arrangements under my Department’s Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme. Again, properties sourced under these programmes are used to accommodate persons on the local authority housing waiting lists, including those in emergency accommodations or at risk of homelessness.
Building on the early actions taken to make affordable housing more viable through re-affirming apartment guidelines and reforming the development contribution regime, a number of other actions are underway to make residential property delivery viable, at a far greater scale, and at more generally affordable prices and rents. For example, the announcement, on 28 March 2017, of €226 million funding for housing infrastructure on 34 high-impact sites, through the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF), will act at the catalyst for the delivery of some 23,000 homes by 2021 and an overall figure of up to 70,000 homes in the longer term in areas of greatest supply constraints. Details of the projects approved under LIHAF can be accessed at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/local-infrastructure-housing-activation-fund-announced/.
Through the range of actions currently being progressed under Rebuilding Ireland to increase the supply of homes across all tenures, the Government will create the conditions required for the restoration of a more sustainable and normally functioning housing market, capable of providing homes, to buy or rent, at more affordable price points, where and when they are required.
