James Browne
Question:68. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to address the lack of housing supply in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4483/18]
View answerWednesday, 31 January 2018
Questions (68)
Written answers
Wexford, like many other local authorities around the country, has experienced a low level of construction activity both public and private over the last number of years. However, Rebuilding Ireland is focused on accelerating delivery of housing across all tenures and a comprehensive programme of action is well underway.
One of the most significant areas of the Government's attention has been on social housing, which will see investment of more than €6 billion to deliver 50,000 social housing homes through build, refurbishment, acquisitions and leasing, over the period to 2021. In relation to social housing developments, the latest status report at end Q3 2017 for construction projects is available on my Department's website. The report shows a significant level of activity being undertaken by Wexford County Council, in conjunction with Approved Housing Bodies, across 38 projects, delivering in the region of 390 homes. In addition, the Council is undertaking feasibility work on a number of further projects, with the potential to deliver almost 180 additional homes.
In relation to full year outputs for 2017, provisional details on the number of social housing homes delivered across the country, were published on 15 January 2018. A breakdown of these homes in terms of build, refurbishment, acquisitions and leasing, across all local authority areas, including Wexford, will be made available shortly, following completion of the necessary validation process.
In addition to the provision of adequate funding, the availability of suitable lands for development is key to ensuring the delivery of sufficient housing supply. All local authorities have been requested to prepare Strategic Development and Management Plans for residential lands in their ownership to ensure they are brought forward for development at the earliest opportunity. The Plans for Wexford will be reviewed by my Department once received.