Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 November 2018
72. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of publicly owned lands suitable for residential units; the number of residential units built on publicly owned land in each of the past five years; the steps he has taken to enhance the construction of residential units on public land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43921/18]
View answerWhile the development of residential land in local authority ownership is a matter for the individual authority concerned, including its elected members, in the first instance, I am determine to ensure that new social and affordable homes are delivered from the public land bank without delay, with particular emphasis on prioritising those sites with the greatest potential to deliver housing at scale, in the short to medium term.
The Rebuilding Ireland Housing Land Map sets out details of some 1,700 hectares of land in local authority and Housing Agency ownership, with a potential housing yield in excess of 40,000 homes. The active management of these lands and the wider publicly owned land bank is one of a range of complementary actions being progressed under the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan and the recently established Land Development Agency will play an important role in this regard.
To date, State-led residential construction has focused primarily on helping to meet the needs of households in the lowest income brackets, through the social housing programme. With increased investment to deliver over 50,000 new social homes over the period 2016 to 2021, some 33,500 of which will be delivered through build programmes, the social housing construction programme has increased significantly in recent years. This is reflected in the social housing construction status report at end Q2 this year, which included 1,067 schemes delivering over 16,351 homes, a 48% increase on the position a year earlier. This includes turnkey developments on private lands which can also play an important part in social housing delivery, particularly in areas where local authorities may have limited access to lands.
A targeted approach is now also being pursued to support local authorities to open up lands for affordable housing. To this end, I have provided additional funding for enabling infrastructure via the Serviced Sites Fund. As of Budget 2019, a total of €310 million will be provided for this purpose over the course of 2019 to 2021. The combination of this Fund and the significantly increased funding for the social housing programme will open up more significant opportunities for larger mixed-tenure developments and my Department will be continuing to engage proactively with local authorities to accelerate the delivery of these projects.
