Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 October 2021
461. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way the €246 million housing capital carryover is broken down; the programmes that had an underspend; the amount of each underspend; the number of housing units that were not built as a result of this underspend; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50923/21]
View answer480. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a breakdown of the €246 million capital carryover from 2021 to 2022 as detailed in footnote 15 on page 116 of the Budget Expenditure Book, by area of expenditure including the amount unspent in that budget line in 2021 and the consequent impact on delivery compared to targets (details supplied). [51202/21]
View answer484. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount of the €468 million of expenditure on social housing delivery detailed in page 123 of the Budget 2022 expenditure report that is carryover from the underspend in 2021; and the amount that is new expenditure from €644 million additional capital allocation as detailed in page 44 of the revised National Development Plan. [51211/21]
View answerThe Finance Act 2004, section 91, provides for the carryover of up to 10% of the REV allocation (Capital) from one year to the next. As the Deputy is aware, 2020 and 2021 saw very significant disruption to the construction sector due to Covid-19 and there have been consequential impacts on drawdown of capital funds.
For 2022, I have confirmed to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that I am seeking full capital carryover of 10%, amounting to some €276m. The details of the source and subsequent allocation of that funding will be published in the REV later this year. At this stage, I have signalled that €246m of the carryover will be applied to Subhead A.3 Local Authority Housing for the delivery of social housing.
Page 44 of the National Development Plan signalled a ceiling increase of €634m for my Department’s Vote Group (from €2.766Bn to €3.400Bn). This excludes carryover and when the carryover is taken into account the capital provision for my Department’s Vote Group, available for all Programmes, will be €3.676m. This will be further supplemented by LPT of €78m for Housing delivery.
The table attached provides a detailed breakdown of funding for my Department in 2021 and for 2022 and will show clearly the year on year increases both including and excluding carryover.
Looking specifically at page 123 of the Budget Book, these are a selection of measures rather than a comprehensive listing of all activities. The carryover is applied to one of a number of subheads, which contribute to social housing delivery. As you will see in the attached, the total Capital and Current provision for Programme A-Housing in 2022 will be just under €4Bn, of which approximately 6% comes from capital carryover. The amount highlighted for social housing delivery on page 123 represents the year-on-year increase in total funding available.
Despite the impact of the introduction of restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19, more than 7,800 new social homes were provided in 2020 and a further 3,600 were delivered in the first 6 months of 2021, of which almost 2,500 were new build social homes. My Department is working closely with local authorities and other delivery partners to ensure the maximum number of homes are delivered this year.
