Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 June 2018
1280. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of land available for the provision of local authority housing by local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24410/18]
View answer1281. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of local authority units of accommodation under construction by local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24411/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1280 and 1281 together.
The active management of the publicly-owned housing land bank is part of a range of complementary actions being progressed under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, designed to accelerate and increase housing output. To this end, details of some 1,700 hectares of land in local authority and Housing Agency ownership were published on the Rebuilding Ireland Housing Land Map, with the potential to deliver some 42,500 homes nationally. These mapped sites can be viewed at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/rebuilding-ireland-land-map/.
In addition to this mapping exercise, all local authorities, have been requested to prepare Strategic Development and Management Plans for housing lands in their ownership, with particular emphasis on prioritising those sites with the greatest potential to deliver housing at scale, in the short to medium term.
From a longer-term strategic perspective, as part of Project Ireland 2040, the Government announced its intention to establish a new National Regeneration and Development Agency, which will have a role in managing the State's wider publicly-owned land bank to ensure that overall development needs, including housing, are met. The new Agency will work closely with local authorities, Government Departments, Agencies and other State and semi-State bodies to secure the best use of public lands and ensure the delivery on the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan.
In respect of the number of local authority houses under construction, this is set out in the Social Housing Construction Status Report which is published on a quarterly basis. The report covering the period up to end Quarter 4 2017 was published on 19 April 2018 and is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-q4-2017/. The report provides project details of the social housing construction pipeline in place at end-2017 for all local authorities, including those being delivered in partnership with approved housing bodies.
The report shows a pipeline of over 13,400 social homes, a substantial increase on the 8,430 homes in the pipeline a year earlier. At end 2017, almost 2,600 social homes were completed, with another 3,650 homes under construction, 1,900 homes about to go on site and the remaining 5,300 homes progressing through the various stages of planning, design and procurement.
