Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 December 2022
51. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, in the light of the new policy approach which recommends that Councils seek to buy homes with tenants in situ when there are social housing support tenants with notices to quit, he has reviewed the capital funding that will be available to local authorities for these purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56756/22]
View answer70. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a full report on any submissions or discussions that he has had with the Department Public Expenditure and Reform with regard to expanding its capital programme for the acquisition of homes for social and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56465/22]
View answer84. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way that he decided the capital allocation for housing given that Housing for All targets are being missed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48392/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 51, 70 and 84 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 by 2030. 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 investment through the Land Development Agency (LDA) and €5bn lending through the Housing Finance Agency (HFA).
Budget 2022 underpinned the annual €4 billion capital investment through the provision of €2.6 billion Exchequer funding and €1.5 billion LDA investment and HFA lending. In addition, Budget 2022 also provided for Current housing funding of €1.4 billion.
Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022-2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new build projects delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHB) and, with this, to reduce the numbers of social homes delivered through acquisition programmes. However, acquisitions of second hand properties for social housing fall under a number of local authority and Approved Housing Body (AHB) acquisitions programmes. A circular, issued to local authorities in April this year, reinstated delegated sanction to local authorities in respect of social housing acquisitions that could be completed in 2022. The reinstatement of delegated sanction has allowed local authorities to respond more flexibility to secure acquisitions which support a household to exit or to prevent homelessness. The cost of these acquisitions in 2022 will be met from within the existing capital resources assigned to my Department.
During 2022, the construction sector has been impacted by construction product inflation, constrained supply chains and high energy costs. This resulted in delays to a number of housing projects. However, there has been a strong improvement in the delivery environment, supported by measures introduced by this Government to address material inflation and energy costs, through the introduction of the Inflation/ Supply Chain Delay Co-operation Framework.
We are looking at very strong delivery for the final quarter of the year and my Department continues to work closely with the local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies to ensure that social and affordable delivery is maximised.
Budget 2023 again provides record levels of investment by this Government to support housing delivery. There will be €4 billion in Exchequer funding available to deliver capital and current housing programmes.
