I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 89, 90, 93, 95 and 99 together.
Increasing the supply of social, affordable and private housing is a priority for this Government. The Programme for Government commits to the delivery of 50,000 new social homes with a focus on new build homes.
In 2021, the Government has made available €3.3 billion for housing delivery programmes. Subject to delays arising from COVID-19 restrictions, this funding will support the delivery of 12,750 social homes through Build, Acquisition and Leasing, including 9,500 new build homes. 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. In addition to supporting households in homes allocated by local authorities, eligible households are supported in the private rental market through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).
Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority area is provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA). Since 2016, the numbers have decreased from 91,600 to 68,693, a reduction of 25%. The full report is available on my Department’s website at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/29da7-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2019-key-findings/ and provides details on the length of time spent on the social housing list. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 assessment was delayed and conducted in November. Work is ongoing and the summary report of the 2020 assessment will be published shortly.
In relation to the reduction of waiting times, 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/