In April last year, as part of the Social Housing Strategy 2020, I announced over €1.5 billion in funding allocations in respect of social housing to be provided by all local authorities for the period out to 2017 via a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes. Those allocations and associated targets for each local authority, including Waterford, are available on my Department’s website at the following link:http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/minsters-kelly-coffey-announce-eu15-billion-social-housing-targets-local.
Following this notification of targets, I made announcements for substantial new social housing projects in May 2015, in July 2015 and in January 2016. Between these three announcements, almost €680 million has been allocated for over 3,900 social housing new builds, turnkey developments and acquisitions. Details of these project approvals, including those for Waterford, are available on my Department’s website at the following links:http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,41340,en.htm
http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/News/MainBody,42225,en.htm
http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/ministers-kelly-coffey-announce-further-1000-social-housing-units
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I am keen that local authorities advance these projects as soon as possible and have assured them that funding is available to fully support their efforts in this regard.
In 2015, social housing construction projects were completed in Waterford at Chairman’s Arch/Cathedral Square and St. John’s College. While such construction projects are being advanced, acquisitions of new and second-hand houses and apartments remain an effective means of meeting immediate social housing need and information on the acquisitions undertaken last year by Waterford City & County Council is published on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
Under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP), my Department, together with local authorities, can support AHBs to construct, purchase or lease housing units and make them available for social housing. The housing units are secured under long-term leases/availability arrangements between local authorities, AHBs and private property owners. A total of 14 social housing units were delivered under the programme in the administrative area of Waterford City and County Council in 2015. To date, a total of 187 units have been delivered in Waterford since the SHCEP programme began including 36 AHB constructed units which recently became operational. In addition, a total of 41 units have received funding approval under the programme and will be delivered in Waterford over the course of the next two years. 21 of these are new units that will be purchased by AHBs with assistance from my Department’s Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) and made available to Waterford City and County Council under long-term lease arrangements funded by SHCEP.
