Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 December 2022
222. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way that the various housing bodies including approved housing bodies and local authorities can improve to focus specifically on various target groups who are currently not able to access the housing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60061/22]
View answer228. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if each local authority might be required to provide a specified number of local authority houses on publicly owned lands in the shortest time possible; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60068/22]
View answer229. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of local authority houses built on contract in each local authority area for rent or sale purposes to qualified applicants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60069/22]
View answer230. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of exclusively publicly owned sites in the various local authority areas throughout the country in which houses are being built or will be built in the near future for persons seeking local authority housing, affordable housing or serviced sites; the extent to which these might make positive impact on the housing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60070/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 222, 228, 229 and 230 together.
Housing 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. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.
Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes; 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing and 28,500 new affordable homes in the period 2022-2026.
A key action of Housing for All is that local authorities developed and submitted Housing Delivery Action Plans. The Plans set out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022 - 2026, including details of the delivery programme to be utilised. The Plans also contain details on the provision of age-friendly housing, housing to meet the needs of disabled people and one-bedroom units to address homelessness. My Department has worked closely with the local authorities to review and finalise the Plans, having regard to the targets and policy objectives set out in Housing for All. The Plans have been published by each local authority on their own website.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity in all local authorities. This data is available until the end of Quarter 2 2022 and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/.
My Department also publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR). The CSR provides details of social housing developments, including details of SHIP construction delivery, which have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and pre-tender process. The most recent publication was for Q2 2022. The report is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/5a259-social-housing-construction-projects-status-report-q2-2022/.
A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis at the link below: https://data.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q2-2022?package_type=dataset
This year represents the first year of a very ambitious programme of delivery of affordable housing and significant funding has been secured and is being made available to support delivery of affordable housing for purchase or for cost rental through the various delivery streams.
Local authorities have begun collating information on the delivery of affordable homes in their area in the same manner as is currently undertaken for social housing. It is intended that information on delivery across all delivery streams will be coordinated by my Department and I expect that my Department will be in a position to commence reporting on affordable delivery figures in national quarterly delivery statistics before year-end.
