Written Answers Nos. 293-311
293. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the policy of Dublin City Council and the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive of removing tents being used by persons sleeping rough in Dublin City and when removing these tents to remove and destroy the person belongings of the persons sleeping rough; and if he will request Dublin City Council to discontinue this practice. [6511/21]
View answerMy Department's role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of emergency accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities.
The specific matter referred to by the Deputy is primarily a matter for Dublin City Council and the Dublin Region Homeless Executive as the relevant authorities and I understand that they have issued a public statement outlining the operational reasons for their actions and the manner in which it was carried out.
It is vital that we continue to deliver the appropriate measures to ensure that all individuals experiencing homelessness are supported to exit into permanent housing solutions and that those with complex health and mental health needs are provided with the supports they need. My Department is working closely with the Department of Health, the HSE and local authorities in respect of these issues.
The Programme for Government includes measures targeted specifically at those experiencing homelessness with complex needs. It commits to the continued expansion of Housing First, and, importantly, ensuring that health and mental health supports are provided. The provision of addiction and mental health supports has featured prominently in meetings of the High Level Homelessness Task Force that I established and in my regular interactions with the Minister for Health.
Engaging directly with rough sleepers is vital and this engagement is first and foremost to encourage those rough sleeping to avail of shelter. Critically, it also allows their health needs to be assessed and provided for. Services operate throughout the year with an increased emphasis during cold weather periods.
Our overriding objective is to provide long-term homes for all individuals experiencing homelessness.
294. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on the recent significant rise in tender prices for social housing developments in Dublin City Council; and if he will examine the use of multi-annual framework agreements and breaking up larger development sites into tenders for enabling works and sub-lots of social housing within the social housing developments to increase competition and ensure value for money for the taxpayer in the delivery of social housing. [6512/21]
View answerMy Department assesses, approves and records local authority social housing delivery costs for each project submitted for funding approval. As part of the process submitted costs are reviewed, taking cognisance of the particular circumstances of each project and the context of the overall housing need. On occasion, tender approval has been withheld by my Department or only a reduced budget approved, where costs were at a level which could not be justified.
There have been two recent reports on the costs of construction, ‘The Real Costs of New Apartment Delivery’ published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) and ‘Construction costs for direct-build Dublin City Council residential developments’, a report to the DCC Housing SPC by DCC.
The SCSI report ‘The Real Costs of New Apartment Delivery’, is an analysis based on real market data on the typical overall cost of development for apartments in the Dublin area.
This report is an update on a similar study/report published in 2017 and its findings are based upon market conditions on the costs of 2-bedroom apartments. The data was collected from 49 apartment schemes (comprising c. 9,500 units in total). As there is a large variance in the type and size of apartment schemes being developed, the data collected was classified into four types - Suburban (low-rise); Suburban (medium-rise); Urban (medium rise 5-8 storeys); and Urban (medium-rise 9-15 storeys).
The report sets out a range of development costs across the above four categories as follows:
Category 1 (suburban low-rise): €315k to €365k per unit (ex.VAT).
Category 2 (suburban medium-rise): €361k to €467k per unit (ex. VAT).
Category 3 (urban medium-rise; 5-8 storeys): €435k to €518k per unit (ex.VAT).
Category 4 (urban medium-rise; 9-15 storeys): €455k to €551k per unit (ex. VAT).
The report outlines that:
- Total development costs of developing low rise apartments in Dublin suburbs range from €315k to 365k ex. VAT (or €359k to €413k including VAT on sales) - an increase of 8% and 7% respectively on the 2017 report.
- Total development costs of delivering medium-rise apartments in Dublin city and suburbs category 2, 3 and 4) have fallen by between 2% and 9% since 2017 - the total development costs of medium-rise apartments now range from €361k to €551 ex. VAT (or €411k to €619k including VAT on sales).
These cost savings are largely due to the introduction of new apartment design guidelines in 2018 by the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage.
The DCC management report ‘Construction costs for direct-build Dublin City Council residential developments’ provides cost data for seven social housing projects tendered between 2017 and 2019. One of these projects consisted of houses only. The report shows a range of average all-in costs (per unit) for these seven projects to be between €288,011 (an all house development) to €494,441 with an average all-in cost of €429,271 per unit. My Department is currently working with DCC to validate and reconcile the costs detailed in their report. This reconciliation will ensure that the costs used for analysis and reporting align with the latest amounts reported by DCC to my Department for funding approval.
My Department intends to engage with the SCSI to further review issues raised in the recently published SCSI report on apartment delivery costs.
Local authorities currently use a number of frameworks when tendering for design and professional services and public works construction contracts for social housing construction.
DCC currently have a number of frameworks available to them, including.
- DCC Volumetric framework for projects > €15m, in existence since 2019; (in use with four projects on-site delivering 260 new units);
- DCC Volumetric framework for projects < €15m, (about to go to tender);
- National OGP framework of rapid delivery contractors up to 50 dwellings in place since 2017
about to expire
to be replaced by the National OGP framework of design & build contractors (about to go to Market)
- National OGP Framework of design team consultants available since 2016 (various sub lots for different value of works). This is due to expire in Q1 2021. Tenders for replacement frameworks are currently under evaluation.
In addition it is understood that DCC use
- Dublin Authorities Framework for individual design team members;
- Various Dublin Authority frameworks for specific works – i.e. renovation works.
Local authorities have the ability to proceed with enabling works on sites in advance of tendering for the construction of apartments and houses and my Department are willing to work with LAs to advance large projects in phases where a project lends itself to this approach and where value for money can be achieved without unduly impacting on overall project delivery timelines.
295. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will set out the delivery of new social homes by construction over acquisitions, commenced for each of the 31 local authorities since 1 June 2020, in tabular form in line with the Programme for Government 2020 – Our Shared Future, in which there is a clear objective and priority to increase social housing stock by over 50,000 over a five-year period through a focus on new builds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6517/21]
View answerMy Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on all social housing delivery activity. This data is available to the end of Quarter 3 2020 and data for Quarter 4 2020 is currently being compiled. This is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/
My Department has also published the Quarter 3 2020 Social Housing Construction Status Report, which provides details of all social housing developments under construction in each local authority. The report is available at the following link: https://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-obrien-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-for-q2-2020-2/. The data for Quarter 4 2020 is being compiled and the report will be published as soon as it is available.
The Report identifies the quarter in which local authority social housing construction projects started on site, including those that started in the preceding 12 months. Projects identified in the Report as at 'Stage 4 approved or Final Turnkey/CALF approval' have been approved by my Department and will start on site in 2021 (or may have started in Q4 of 2020), subject to restrictions arising from the response to Covid-19.
Budget 2021 provided €3.3 billion for the delivery of housing. Subject to the impact of the Covid related restrictions on the construction sector, the available funding will deliver 12,750 new social homes through build, acquisition and leasing. A major focus of this investment is the delivery of new build, with an overall target of 9,500 new homes, in addition to 800 acquisitions and 2,450 homes to be delivered through leasing programmes. The Government will be publishing a new housing strategy this year, which will set out details of social housing delivery for 2021-2025, including social housing targets for 2022 onwards.
296. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will publish the terms of reference for a review commissioned by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and the HSE into recent deaths in homeless services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6525/21]
View answer332. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if the terms of reference of the detailed review of recent deaths in homeless services being under taken on behalf of the DRHE and the HSE include an examination of whether or not support plans were in place for persons who died; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7074/21]
View answer333. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider introducing a protocol in order that a review is carried out each time a homeless person dies similar to the adult safeguarding reviews carried out in the UK which include engagement with all the services that supported the person; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7075/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 296, 332 and 333 together.
There have been a number of deaths, in recent months, of people who had been sleeping rough or accessing homeless services. Each of these deaths is a tragedy and I extend my sympathies to the families concerned.
The deaths of people availing of homeless services are a concern and in order to provide a better understanding on this matter, the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) and the HSE have jointly commissioned a detailed review of recent deaths in homeless services. It is important that we establish the facts concerning the circumstances involved, and that we base our response as policy makers and elected representatives on the best knowledge and evidence available.
While I welcome and support the commissioning of this review by the DRHE and the HSE, the Terms of Reference of the review were set by those agencies, having regard to their responsibilities in respect of the provision of accommodation, support and health services to homeless persons. I understand that the review is due to be completed by the end of February 2021. The findings of this review, along with any implications arising in respect of service provision, are to be considered by all the relevant authorities involved in providing services and supports to people experiencing homelessness.
Separate to this, research has been commissioned by the Department of Health who have asked the Health Research Board to undertake a one-year feasibility study to collect data on deaths among people who were homeless. The research will apply the methodology used to compile the National Drug Related Deaths Index, which is a census of drug-related deaths and deaths among drug users and those who are alcohol dependent in Ireland. For deaths in 2019, including deaths among people who were homeless, approximately 17,000 files from all Coroner districts are being reviewed.
I have been informed by the Department of Health, that provided there is not significant delay in inquests being held and that data collection can continue in accordance with Government guidelines in relation to COVID-19, the report should be completed in the last quarter of 2021.
Studies like these provide important insights and understanding to assist in guiding policy, and in targeting the necessary resources and putting in place appropriate policy and operational responses to tackle the complex health needs that many of those that use homeless services have.
297. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the timeline for the introduction of revised guidelines for rural housing on foot of the ECJ Flemish Decree judgment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6526/21]
View answerThere are a number of reasons why it is necessary to review and update the 2005 rural housing guidelines. As drafted, they are framed in the context of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) 2002, which was superseded by the National Planning Framework (NPF) in 2018.
In 2007, two years after the guidelines were issued, the European Union raised an issue in respect of local housing need policy, which gave rise to a follow-on Departmental Circular to local authorities in 2008. In 2013, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in the ‘Flemish Decree’ case that certain provisions with regard to local connection were disproportionate and contrary to EU principles and this was subject to a further Departmental Circular in 2017.
Moreover, since 2005, there have been new requirements and legislation at national and EU level introduced on matters related to rural housing such as environmental protection, the Gaeltacht and climate action.
It is relevant to clarify that the ‘Flemish Decree’ was a March 2009 Decree of the Flemish Region (a Federal Region within Belgium), on land and real estate policy that made the purchase or long-term lease of all immovable property (i.e. all land and buildings and not solely development rights in respect of new housing) in certain Flemish communes (local authorities) conditional upon there being a ‘sufficient connection’ between the prospective buyer or tenant and the relevant commune.
As the Deputy is aware, the Flemish Decree case refers to a successful challenge against the Flemish Decree in the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which ruled that it was disproportionate and was also deemed by the ECJ to be in breach of article 43 of the EU Treaty on the freedom of movement of citizens.
Work is now under way to a) review the Sustainable Rural Housing - Guidelines For Planning Authorities 2005 (which were issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000) and b) in doing so, to have regard to, inter alia, the principles of the outcome of the ‘Flemish decree’ case, where relevant.
The updated Rural Housing Guidelines will address rural housing in a broader rural development and settlement context and I expect a draft before the end of March.
298. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of persons and families on the housing list in County Donegal including those availing of assistance through HAP or RAS in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [6527/21]
View answerData in relation to Donegal and numbers on the housing waiting list, households in the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme (HAP) and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) for the period 2016-Quarter 3 2020 are set-out in the following table:
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Q3 2020 |
|
|
Households on the Housing List |
1,267 |
903 |
811 |
926 |
N/A* |
|
Active HAP Tenancies |
1,317 |
1,627 |
1,729 |
1,805 |
1,849 |
|
Active RAS Tenancies |
542 |
560 |
549 |
538 |
510 |
*Not Available
299. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of council houses and approved housing body houses built and allocated to persons or families in County Donegal in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [6528/21]
View answer300. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the projected number of council houses and approved housing body houses to be built in County Donegal in each of the next five years. [6529/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 299 and 300 together.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on all social housing delivery activity. This is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/
We have also published the Quarter 3 2020 Social Housing Construction Status Report, which provides details of all social housing developments under construction in each local authority. The report is available at the following link: https://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-obrien-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-for-q2-2020-2/. The data for Quarter 4 2020 is being compiled and the report will be published as soon as it is available.
The Report identifies the quarter in which local authority social housing construction projects started on site, including those that started in the preceding 12 months. Projects identified in the Report as at 'Stage 4 approved or Final Turnkey/CALF approval' have been approved by my Department and will start on site in 2021 (or may have started in Q4 of 2020), subject to restrictions arising from the response to Covid-19.
Budget 2021 provided €3.3 billion for the delivery of housing. Subject to the impact of the Covid related restrictions on the construction sector, the available funding will deliver 12,750 new social homes through build, acquisition and leasing. A major focus of this investment is the delivery of new build, with an overall target of 9,500 new homes, in addition to 800 acquisitions and 2,450 homes to be delivered through leasing programmes. Donegal County Council has been set a target to deliver 164 new build homes and 46 homes through leasing in 2021.
The Government will be publishing a new housing strategy this year, which will set out details of social housing delivery for 2021-2025, including social housing targets for 2022 onwards.
301. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will raise the income threshold in County Donegal for persons or families to join the public housing list in order to reflect the real income and cost of housing in the county. [6530/21]
View answer313. Deputy Charles Flanagan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a review of the income eligibility threshold for social housing supports in counties Laois and Offaly has been undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6696/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 301 and 313 together.
Applications for social housing support are assessed by the relevant local authority, in accordance with the eligibility and need criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the associated Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011, as amended.
The 2011 Regulations prescribe maximum net income limits for each local authority, in different bands according to the area concerned, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy. The 2011 Regulations do not provide local authorities with any discretion to exceed the limits that apply to their administrative areas.
Under the Household Means Policy, which applies in all local authorities, net income for social housing assessment is defined as gross household income less income tax, PRSI, Universal Social Charge and Pension-Related Deductions within the meaning of Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009. The Policy provides for a range of income disregards, and local authorities also have discretion to decide to disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once-off in nature.
The income bands are expressed in terms of a maximum net income threshold for a single-person household, with an allowance of 5% for each additional adult household member, subject to a maximum allowance under this category of 10%; and 2.5% for each child, subject to a maximum allowance under this category of 10%.
The income bands and the authority area assigned to each band were based on an assessment of the income needed to provide for a household's basic needs, plus a comparative analysis of the local rental cost of housing accommodation across the country. It is important to note that the limits introduced in 2011 also reflected a blanket increase of €5,000 introduced prior to the new system coming into operation, in order to broaden the base from which social housing tenants are drawn, both promoting sustainable communities and also providing a degree of future-proofing.
Given the cost to the State of providing social housing, it is considered prudent and fair to direct resources to those most in need of social housing support. The current income eligibility requirements generally achieve this, providing for a fair and equitable system of identifying those households facing the greatest challenge in meeting their accommodation needs from their own resources.
However, as part of the broader social housing reform agenda, a review of income eligibility for social housing supports in each local authority area is underway. The review will have regard to current initiatives being brought forward in terms of affordability and cost rental and will be completed when the impacts of these parallel initiatives have been considered.
302. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of conservation officers and architects in each local authority in tabular form. [6533/21]
View answerUnder section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible.
My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this end, my Department gathers aggregate quarterly data on staff numbers in each local authority. However, granular data, in terms of the specific role and function of each individual staff member, is not collected and consequently is not available in my Department. The relevant information would be available from individual local authorities.
303. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if a person who is on the local authority social housing list and in private rented accommodation through the RAS or HAP scheme is eligible to apply for the incremental tenant purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6534/21]
View answerThe Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year.
Section 25(1) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 provides that in order to be eligible for the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase scheme the applicant must be the tenant of the house to be sold by the housing authority. Therefore, a tenant in receipt of HAP or RAS in privately owned rented accommodation is ineligible for the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016.
The operation of the Tenant Purchase scheme set out above is a matter for the relevant local authority.
304. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the full cost per unit of council houses built in County Donegal in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [6539/21]
View answer305. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the full cost per unit of turnkey public housing units in County Donegal in each of the years 2016 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [6540/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 304 and 305 together.
Under the Social Housing Investment Programme, my Department provides capital funding to all local authorities, including Donegal County Council, for the delivery of new social homes via their own social housing construction programme, through turnkey arrangements and through acquisitions. As capital-funded construction projects by local authorities must, like all publicly-funded construction projects, comply with the Public Spending Code and the Capital Works Management Framework my Department periodically issues Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) for each local authority area, for use as a key benchmark for the development and costing of scheme designs at capital appraisal stage. While not a record of actual delivery costs, UCCs are based on an analysis of returned data from tendered social housing schemes over an extended period and updated based on published tender index information as required.
To monitor tender cost trends and to inform the UCCs levels, my Department analyses the tender data for the construction cost element of new build social housing schemes approved under the four stage approval processes for each unit type, where sufficient information is available to allow such costs to be extrapolated and where the information available is appropriate for comparison purposes.
Outlined below are the average construction costs (including VAT) for the social homes delivered by Donegal County Council through their own social housing construction programme in each of the years 2016 to 2020, as recorded as part of the aforementioned analysis. The tables also set out the range of costs that make up this average. The range of costs recorded vary, depending on design, type of units, location and on the level of abnormal requirements for each scheme, for instance existing site conditions, demolitions, service diversions and site access requirements. Abnormal costs are also separately identified in the following tables.
The above costs relate to the construction element of the all-in delivery cost. Other items that make up the all-in total include:
Design/technical fees: Design fees vary from project to project, depending on the location, size and complexity of a scheme (and depending on whether design services are provided by a local authority in-house or via external appointment). As a guideline/indicator, design fees are generally expected to range between 7.5% to 12.5% of construction costs.
Land cost: Land costs can vary significantly from project to project, depending on location and ownership status (e.g. varying from existing local authority land at no cost, to land purchased at market value).
Utilities: These include connection fees for Irish Water, ESB, Gas, etc. As a guideline/indicator, utility connection costs are generally in the order of €7,000 per unit.
Other Costs: Other items that can make up the 'all-in' delivery cost include site investigations/surveys, archaeological requirements, 'Percent for Art' contributions, etc. and will vary from project to project.
Outlined as follows are the average costs of the social homes contracted by Donegal County Council through turnkey arrangements in each of the years 2016 and to end-February 2021.
|
Year |
Average Cost Per Unit |
|
2016 |
N/A |
|
2017 |
N/A |
|
2018 |
€153,705 |
|
2019 |
€192,687 |
|
2020 |
€167,218 |
In addition to the above costs, my Department also provides funding of up to 2% for the associated legal/professional fees incurred by the local authority in relation to new social homes delivered via turnkey arrangements, as well as an administration fee, typically €2,000 per unit.
I look forward to working with Donegal County Council in delivering on the commitment in the Programme for Government to increase the social housing stock by over 50,000 over the next five years. Since taking up office, this commitment has been my key priority and focus. This is evidenced in Budget 2021 which provides record funding for housing of €3.3 billion overall.
|
Construction Costs (incl abnormals) |
Abnormal Costs |
|||
|
Year |
Average Cost Per Unit |
Range of Average Costs Per Unit |
Average Cost Per Unit |
Range of Average Costs Per Unit |
|
2016 |
€155,211 |
€155k - €155k |
€24,165 |
€24k - €24k |
|
2017 |
€163,140 |
€163k - €163k |
€16,900 |
€17k - €17k |
|
2018 |
€175,891 |
€156k - €197k |
€29,046 |
€17k - €41k |
|
2019 |
€186,255 |
€184k - €191k |
€24,759 |
€16k - €28k |
|
2020 |
€211,942 |
€208k - €213k |
€37,394 |
€31k - €55k |
306. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the status of the creation of the single utility for water services and the drafting of a White Paper on the future of the utilities' SLA with local authorities including the Government's intentions on whether Irish Water will become a non-commercial semi-State company and whether the Government plans to hold a referendum on the public ownership of water services. [6541/21]
View answerThe Programme for Government provides that Irish Water will be retained in public ownership as a national, standalone, regulated utility.
Consistent with this commitment I undertook to bring forward a Policy Paper setting out the Government’s expectations in relation to the next phase of transformation for the water sector, including in relation to the matters referred to in the question.
I expect to publish the Policy Paper after consideration by Government in the coming weeks.
307. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of public houses built in Cork city in each of the years 2011 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6554/21]
View answer308. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of public houses built in County Cork in each of the years 2011 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6555/21]
View answer309. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of public houses built in an area (details supplied) in each of the years 2011 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6556/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 307 to 309, inclusive, together.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity. This data is available to the end of Quarter 3 2020 and data for Quarter 4 2020 is currently being compiled. This data is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/. This provides information for a number of categories of social housing delivery at local authority level, but does not include a breakdown by local electoral area.
My Department has published the Quarter 3 2020 Social Housing Construction Status Report, which provides details of all social housing developments under construction in each local authority. The report is available at the following link: https://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-obrien-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-for-q2-2020-2/. The data for Quarter 4 2020 is being compiled and the report will be published as soon as it is available.
Budget 2021 provided €3.3 billion for the delivery of housing. Subject to the impact of the Covid related restrictions on the construction sector, the available funding will deliver 12,750 new social homes through build, acquisition and leasing. A major focus of this investment is the delivery of new build, with an overall target of 9,500 new homes, in addition to 800 acquisitions and 2,450 homes to be delivered through leasing programmes.
