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Local Authority Housing Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 January 2019

Tuesday, 15 January 2019

Questions (1194, 1196, 1197)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

1194. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the extent to which the annual housing requirements for local authority houses have been identified on a county basis with a view to putting in place a structure sufficient to meet this demand annually; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1731/19]

View answer

Bernard Durkan

Question:

1196. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of new local authority housing applicants registered with each local authority in the course of the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1733/19]

View answer

Bernard Durkan

Question:

1197. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the degree to which his Department remains in contact with each local authority in order to monitor the extent of the evolving local authority housing needs in their administrative areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1734/19]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1194, 1196 and 1197 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 has been carried out on an annual basis since 2016.

The 2018 assessment shows that 71,858 households were assessed as qualified and being in need of social housing support. This represents a decrease of 13,941 households or 16.2% on the last assessment in June 2017. Indeed, since the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan was launched in 2016, the numbers have decreased from 91,600 to 71,858, a reduction of 22%.

It should be noted that the SSHA is a point in time exercise and does not necessarily reflect the dynamic nature of entry to and exit from the list. It is also 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 homes 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.

I have set delivery targets for all local authorities out to 2021, based on current housing need. It is acknowledged that future annualised assessments may see individual local authorities housing need numbers rising, or falling, for a variety of reasons. The targets have been set in such a way as to be able to respond to such an eventuality over the course of the period covered by Rebuilding Ireland.

Over the six years of Rebuilding Ireland, the Government is committed to meeting the housing needs of over 137,000 households through the provision of social housing supports. The implementation of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan is well underway and significant progress has been made. Annual delivery targets were exceeded in 2016 and again in 2017. By end September 2018, over 63,700 additional social housing solutions have already been provided under the plan.

The latest data in relation to social housing delivery to end Q3 2018 is published on my Department's website at the following link:

https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision .

Data in relation to Q4 2018 outputs is currently being compiled and will be published shortly.

The importance of aligning social housing delivery with housing need has been a consistent theme of the three housing summits I have held with local authority Chief Executives during 2017 and 2018. Following on from these summits and the commitments given and objectives set there, my Department engages with all local authorities on a regular basis regarding the delivery of social housing. I am confident that the actions, targets and resources available to all local authorities under Rebuilding Ireland provide a strong platform for meeting our challenges in the housing sector and continuing to reduce the number of households on waiting lists.

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