Vol. 540 No. 1
77 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on whether there is a crisis in the purchase, rental and local authority housing sectors; and if so, if he has proposals at this stage to confront the problem. [19900/01]
The Government has taken a wide range of measures to increase housing supply, remove infrastructural and planning bottlenecks, moderate increases in house prices and to improve affordability of housing particularly for first time purchasers. The policy objectives and Government measures have been set out in Action on House Prices (April 1998), Action on the Housing Market (March 1999) and Action on Housing (June 2000).
There is clear evidence that the Government's actions over the last few years have had a significantly positive impact, in the face of strongly rising demand for housing. Total new housing output in 2000 was almost 50,000 units, an increase of 7% over the 1999 total, the sixth consecutive year of record housing output. House price data for recent months indicate further moderation in the rate of increase in average house prices. There is also firm evidence that first-time buyers are gaining an increasing share of the new housing market.
The provision of £6 billion for social and affordable housing in the National Development Plan, augmented by further investment of almost £1 billion announced in Action on Housing, will ensure that the social and affordable housing needs of almost 100,000 households will be met with Government assistance over the period of the plan.
