Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 November 2023
245. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the further steps that can be taken to dramatically increase the housing output to meet the requirements of both the public and private housing programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49231/23]
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. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes and 54,000 affordable homes by 2030.
The Housing for All Action Plan is kept under review to ensure that any potential measures are considered and implemented, if relevant. Actions are prioritised based on what will have the greatest impact in increasing supply. The second review of the Action Plan is completed and an Updated Action Plan is expected to be published shortly.
A record €5.1bn capital investment in housing was announced in Budget 2024. This will be made up of €2.6bn Exchequer funding, €978m Land Development Agency (LDA) and €1.5bn Housing Finance Agency (HFA) funding. The capital funding being provided for housing in 2024, coupled with LDA and HFA investment is the highest ever in the history of the State. This funding will ensure we can continue to deliver new social and affordable homes for purchase and rent at pace.
A wide variety of measures have been introduced recently to increase output including the Secure Tenancy Affordable Rental (STAR) scheme, the temporary waiving of development levies and, the most comprehensive reform of our planning system in decades. Alongside these recent measures are other reforms and activation schemes designed to increase supply have been introduced under the Plan, such as Croí Cónaithe cities, the vacant property refurbishment grant and the increase to the Cost Rental Equity Loan.
The adoption of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) has the potential to dramatically improve construction sector productivity, innovation, speed of delivery, sustainability and ultimately, costs in both public and private housing delivery. To promote the widespread adoption of MMC, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, supported by my Department, has established and chairs a MMC Leadership and Integration Group to ensure the integration and coordination across a range of MMC initiatives applicable to residential construction. Several targeted actions to improve MMC adoption have been identified and are included in the upcoming Housing for All Updated Action Plan.
In 2022, almost 30,000 homes were delivered. This number exceeds the Housing for All target by over 5,000 homes and is the highest number of home completions in a decade. Some 31,500 homes were completed in the rolling 12-month period to the end of September 2023. Construction has commenced on nearly 24,000 in the first three quarters of 2023, up 14% on the same period last year. Looking at these trends, we expect to exceed the housing completion targets for 2023.
