Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 January 2018
335. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of local authority housing applicants on local authority lists who have been homed specifically by the local authorities in the past 12 months; the reduction of the numbers on the lists as a consequence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4902/18]
View answer351. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the degree to which he expects local authority housing waiting lists to be reduced in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4963/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 335 and 351 together.
Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area are provided in the statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA), which are now being carried out on an annual basis. The most recently published statutory SSHA relates to the assessment carried out in June 2017. This exercise recorded the number of households on all local authority waiting lists, as at 28 June 2017. The figures reported in the SSHA refer to ‘net need’ which is the number of applicants who are qualified for social housing support but whose need is not being met. This figure excludes duplicate applications or those applicants whose need has been met but are on a transfer list.
The results of the 2017 summary show that there were 85,799 households deemed qualified for, and in need of, social housing support, which is a decrease of -6.3% (-5,801) in net need compared to the 2016 summary.
Full details in relation to the 2017 assessment are available on my Department's website, at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/sha_summary_2017.pdf.
It is important to note that social housing is a demand led service and for that reason it is difficult to predict the degree to which housing lists will decrease or increase over the next 12 months. The number of units delivered by local authorities in a given time period does not necessarily equate to the ‘net need’ for social housing support reducing by an equivalent number. The nature of the list is dynamic in that, as households are added to it, the needs of others are met and further households will leave the list for various reasons including the households themselves indicating that they no longer require State support.
In terms of meeting the need of households on waiting lists across the country, Rebuilding Ireland set ambitious targets for social housing delivery. Last year, an additional €500 million was secured during Budget 2018 negotiations, to increase the social housing delivery ambition from 47,000 to 50,000 social housing homes by end 2021. Combined with the target to deliver 88,000 tenancies under the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Schemes, this means that we will meet the needs of almost 138,000 individuals and families over the lifetime of the Rebuilding Ireland plan.
Details in relation to activity during 2017 were recently published and is available at the link below
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/rebuilding-ireland-2017-status-report/.
During last year, just under 26,000 households had their social housing need met, well ahead of the target of just over 21,000. It should be noted that to date under Rebuilding Ireland, just under 45,000 households have had their social housing need met. We will continue to maintain a clear focus on delivery each year to 2021, ensuring that the ambitious targets set out in Rebuilding Ireland are fully achieved, including in 2018, when we have set a target to meet the social housing support needs of some 25,589 households.
