Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 November 2018
292. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of new local authority house starts, excluding activity generated by approved housing bodies, recorded in each local authority area in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47378/18]
View answer293. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if contracts excluding activity generated by approved housing bodies can be entered into between the private sector and the local authorities with a view to the provision of urgently required local authority housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47379/18]
View answer294. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the extent to which he can facilitate the provision of direct build local authority-only housing starts excluding the activity by approved housing bodies by way of the private sector, including planning permission and site works for a contract price; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47380/18]
View answer295. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the extent to which sufficient infrastructure exists to facilitate an accelerated programme of direct build local authority houses nationally without reference to approved housing bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47381/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 292 to 295, inclusive, together.
My Department is supporting local authorities in the provision of new build social housing through a range of different initiatives, including the construction of social homes on their own lands and through working in partnership with private developers to deliver social housing construction through turnkey arrangements.
Through this range of supports, local authorities now have substantial pipelines of new build social housing projects approved, details of which can be seen in the Quarter 2 2018 Construction Status Report, which is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-latest-social-housing-construction-report/.
These Construction Status Reports include construction schemes being delivered through the range of different programmes. Those listed as "SHIP Construction" are new build schemes taken forward by local authorities, usually on sites they own or have acquired. In most cases, the local authority will have procured a design team externally and in all cases, will contract the construction of the new social homes to private developers. "SHIP Turnkey" projects are separately identified in the report and are construction schemes where local authorities contract private developers to construct new housing, usually taking advantage of designs - which are fully building regulation compliant - and planning permissions that are already in place.
The most recent construction status report reflects an increase in the scale of the social housing build programme, with 1,067 schemes (or phases of schemes) in place, delivering 16,351 homes. Of this total, 3,518 homes have already been delivered during 2016, 2017 and up to Q2 2018, while a further 4,602 have started on site and are under construction. Almost 1,600 are at the final pre-construction stage and the remainder are progressing through the various stages of planning, design and procurement. The projects are individually listed in the report and include the current position on each project, including those that have started on site this year.
In relation to infrastructure, the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF) is designed to activate housing supply by putting in place the enabling public infrastructure necessary to ensure that large scale development can take place on key sites in urban areas of high housing demand. Approval was given for 30 projects under LIHAF in 2017 and early 2018, and these projects will stimulate development of approximately 20,000 homes across 14 local authorities, at a cost of approximately €195 million, of which around 75% will be provided from exchequer funding. Kildare County Council has been approved for funding for three LIHAF projects at Sallins, Naas and Maynooth, at a total cost of €21.4 million.
