To support the implementation of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, I have secured €5.35 billion in investment to deliver 47,000 social housing units through build, refurbishment, acquisitions and leasing, over the period to 2021. Within the 47,000 social housing units to be delivered it is estimated at this stage that approximately 26,000 will be delivered from construction activity while 11,000 will be acquired by local authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs) directly from the market or from the Housing Agency, with a portion of these latter units also being newly built. A further 10,000 units will be leased by local authorities and AHBs. The €5.35 billion investment comprises some €4.5 billion in capital funding and €844 million in support of programmes funded from current expenditure. In addition, €200 million is being provided for the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund through investment in key enabling infrastructure.
Under Rebuilding Ireland, the needs of over 19,000 households were met in 2016 through a range of housing programmes, supported by expenditure of over €935 million. Under the Plan, an additional €1.3 billion has been provided for 2017; this funding will support the accelerated delivery of social housing and ensure that the 2017 target to meet the needs of over 21,000 households will be achieved. Within the overall 21,000 target, some 4,500 will be delivered through new builds/acquisitions and a significant proportion of these will involve new construction.
I have published a comprehensive status list of social housing construction schemes that are advancing nationwide, which can be accessed at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/social-housing-developments/. This status report, which sets out the position at end 2016, lists the 504 approved social housing construction projects and their locations and contains a range of information relating to their advancement, including those delivered in 2016 and those progressing through planning, design and construction. These 504 projects, when completed, will deliver circa 8,430 new social houses, some of which were completed in 2016, with the others in the pipeline being completed in 2017 and subsequent years. These projects are funded under a range of different initiatives such as local authority construction/turnkey developments, rapid delivery, regeneration programmes and construction and turnkey developments by Approved Housing Bodies under the Capital Assistance Scheme and the Capital Advance Leasing Facility. The precise timing for the advancement of each of these projects, including completion dates, is a matter for the relevant local authorities and AHBs concerned, in the first instance.
Further project approvals are being added to the pipeline as they are developed by local authorities and AHBs; an updated construction project status report, setting out the position at end Q1 2017, will be published shortly. I am keen that all local authorities advance their social housing projects as speedily as possible and I have assured them that funding is in place to support their activity in this regard.
