Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 January 2022
318. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which his Department continues to assess the extent to which the Housing for All programme continues to make serious inroads on the local authority housing shortage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3545/22]
View answerHousing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Over 300,000 new homes will be built by the end of 2030, including a projected 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. The Plan is backed by historic levels of investment with in excess of €20bn through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency over the next 5 years. This will provide the sector with the stability and certainty it needs.
Indications of increased construction activity are becoming evident which will help increase the supply and availability of housing. There is a strong supply pipeline, with latest Commencement Notices data showing a total number of 30,724 residential dwellings commenced in 2021. The 2021 total is almost equal to the combined totals for 2016 and 2017 (30,816).
With regard to the number of homes built, in the year to Quarter 3 2021, almost 21,000 new dwellings were completed. This represents a 6.8% year-on-year increase. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) will publish its Q4 2021 New Dwelling Completions data in the coming days. Completions for 2022 and 2023 are projected to exceed the Housing for All targets of 24,600 and 29,000 respectively. The Central Bank forecasts that some 27,000 and 31,000 homes will be completed in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
The most recent CSO figures on planning permissions also show a strong pipeline, with 39,077 units (apartments/flats and houses) granted planning permission in the 12 months to end Q3 2021.
With regard to Local Authority housing delivery, and in line with Housing for All, each Local Authority has developed and submitted a Housing Delivery Action Plan to my Department in December 2021. The Plans set out details of both social and affordable housing delivery, as appropriate, over the period 2022-2026. My Department is currently engaging with local authorities on these plans, in particular their alignment with the targets and policy objectives set out in Housing for All. The Plans will be published in Quarter 2.
The Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR) published by my Department shows the ongoing delivery of social housing across the country. The CSR provides an outlined breakdown of Local Authority and Approved Housing Body (AHB) social housing new-build activity from 2016 to date. The CSR provides details of the individual projects that make up the new Build programme for each Local Authority. The most recent report for Quarter 3, shows that there were 9,746 social homes onsite with an additional 9,559 homes at design and tender stage. During Quarter 3 2021, 105 new construction schemes, (1,780 homes) were added to the pipeline.
To support Local Authorities in the delivery of affordable homes, the Affordable Housing Fund has replaced the Serviced Sites Fund (SSF). The Fund has been open for applications from 1 September 2021. My Department has actively engaged with the Local Authorities to support and encourage them to develop and submit proposals. The homes that Local Authorities deliver under the Affordable Housing Fund will be sold at least 15% below open market value in respect of Affordable Purchase homes and in the order of 25% below open market value prices in respect of Cost Rental homes.
The delivery of Cost Rental homes is a key affordability measure under Housing for All, with State-backed rents that are in the order of 25% below what they would be on the private market. 65 cost rental homes have been tenanted to date, in developments in Balbriggan and Leixlip, and a further 1,580 cost rental homes are targeted for delivery in 2022.
Furthermore, the Land Development Agency (LDA) has a key role in the delivery of affordable homes, including through “Project Tosaigh” aimed at accelerating the delivery of up to 5,000 homes. The first delivery stream of this LDA initiative to bring privately developed units to market affordably and quickly was launched on 12 November 2021. The LDA issued a call for Expressions of Interest for advance purchase agreements to developers, with a target scheme scale in excess of 150 units per development, in the Greater Dublin Area, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. The Expressions of Interest submitted are currently being assessed by the LDA with their priority focus and engagement being on schemes with potential delivery in 2022 and 2023.
Increased capacity of the public service to deliver, along with the streamlining of approval processes in relation to housing delivery are key priorities under Housing for All. Over 200 additional posts have been sanctioned and are in the process of being filled across Local Authority housing delivery teams in order to deliver on the scale of Housing for All's ambition.
Increasing the supply of housing as set out in Housing for All is the top priority for me and the Government and we have made a good start on our path towards this goal. However, I acknowledge that we are coming from a low base of supply and that it will take some time before the full benefits of the strategy are tangible to our citizens.
The housing challenge remains immense, and continues to be affected by ongoing challenges including COVID-19 related delays, supply chain difficulties and inflationary pressure. The cost of housing – for those buying or renting - will continue to be a challenge in the short-term and, while we do not underestimate the difficulties this is causing for our citizens, I am confident that the delivery of Housing for All will create a sustainable housing system into the future.
