Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2017
36. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the new targets for new social housing units by 2021, in view of his statement that current targets will not be met by 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33430/17]
View answerThe Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is focused on increasing supply across all tenures and, in respect of social housing, the target is to deliver 47,000 housing units through build, refurbishment, acquisition and leasing over the period 2016 to 2021, alongside an accelerated roll-out of the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme (HAP) to meet the needs of some 80,000 households. This activity is being supported through a significantly increased investment programme of €5.35 billion, while a further €226 million is provided for the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund for investment in key enabling infrastructure to open up lands for early development.
I have not indicated any change in relation to the social housing targets set out in Rebuilding Ireland and I am confident that they will be met. While still at an early stage of implementation, there is already strong evidence that the focus on increasing and accelerating housing supply in Rebuilding Ireland is yielding results. In 2016, the housing needs of over 19,000 households were met through a range of housing programmes, supported by expenditure of over €935 million. A further €1.3 billion has been provided for 2017 to support the accelerated delivery of social housing and the achievement of the 2017 target to meet the housing needs of over 21,000 households.
Looking ahead, my Department has published Status Reports on Social Housing Construction Projects, the latest of which is available at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/social-housing-construction-projects-report-2017/. The report provides details of over 600 social housing projects, involving the construction of over 10,000 new social homes across the 31 local authority areas. The scale of the construction pipeline, as at end-Quarter 1 2017, represents a major escalation in the social housing build programme and more projects are being added on an ongoing basis, to ensure we deliver on the Rebuilding Ireland targets.
