Thursday, 7 Dec 2017

Written Answers Nos. 1-20

Housing Data

Ceisteanna (13)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

13. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of expected new housing starts anticipated by the end of 2017; the number of such houses for families on local authority housing waiting lists; the extent to which he expects the lists to improve over the next12 months; the extent to which the problem of homelessness can be dealt with within that period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52279/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

The housing activity reports, which are available on my Department’s website, show that 19,246 new homes were granted planning permission in the 12 months to end-June 2017, an increase of 49% over the same period last year.  Commencement notices are up by 37%, with notices for 17,151 new homes nationwide submitted in the year to end- October. Moreover, there were 9,441 housing guarantee registrations (an indicator of multi-unit developments) recorded nationally in the 12 months to October 2017 (up 86% year on year).  Estimates from most economic and property commentators suggest that over 18,000 new homes will be built this year, a substantial increase on the 2016 figure of around 15,000 new homes.

With particular regard to the needs of those on housing waiting lists, under Rebuilding Ireland, 50,000 social housing homes will be delivered through build, refurbishment, acquisition and leasing over the period 2016 to 2021, alongside an accelerated roll-out of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme to meet the needs of some 80,000 households. 

It should be noted that there is already strong evidence that the focus on increasing and accelerating housing supply in Rebuilding Ireland is yielding results.  In 2016, the housing needs of over 19,000 households were met through a range of social housing programmes, supported by expenditure of over €935 million.  A further €1.4 billion is being provided in 2017, to meet the housing needs of in excess of 21,000 new households, a target which I am confident will be exceeded.

I am satisfied that the delivery on the range of targets in Rebuilding Ireland  provides a strong platform for meeting the needs of those individuals and families on social housing waiting lists and those experiencing homelessness.

Tenant Purchase Scheme Review

Ceisteanna (14)

James Browne

Ceist:

14. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when he plans to publish the review of the tenant incremental purchase scheme; the changes he plans to make to the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52200/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016.  The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year.

In line with the commitment given in Rebuilding Ireland, a review of the first 12 months of the Tenant Purchase Scheme’s operation was undertaken. The review incorporated the analysis of comprehensive data received from local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme during 2016 and a wide-ranging public consultation process with submissions received from individuals, elected representatives and organisations.

The review is now complete and a full report setting out findings and recommendations has been prepared and I expect to be in a position to publish the outcome of the review shortly.

Housing Data

Ceisteanna (15)

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

15. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of real social houses delivered to date in 2017 by scheme including council new build, council acquisition, council Part V, council returned void, AHB new build, AHB acquisition, AHB part V, and AHB returned void. [52163/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

The 2017 target for the delivery of social housing under the categories listed in the Question is 4,450 units, including Local Authority Build, Acquisitions and Voids. Provisional  data to end Q3 2017 indicates that  just over 3,000 of these units had already been delivered.

When speaking in terms of “real social houses”, we must acknowledge other streams of social housing provision, including long-term leasing arrangements, which will bring the target for 2017 to just over 5,000 units. In addition, the Housing Assistance Payment scheme and the Rental Accommodation schemes are delivering tangible housing solutions for thousands of people.  The combined target for 2017 is to meet the housing needs of over 21,000 households through the full range of programmes and I believe that this will be comfortably exceeded. Progress on these targets is published by my Department on a quarterly basis, and also a full output report across all schemes is provided annually.

Clearly, I want to see a greater emphasis on direct building of social housing than was envisaged originally under Rebuilding Ireland. In 2018 we will see some 5,000 homes built, including 3,800 by local authorities and approved housing bodies, and a strong pipeline is in place to assist in the delivery of these homes.

The construction status report to end Quarter 3 2017 was published earlier this week and shows significant growth in the area of new build activity. Overall, we can see the progress from Q4 – 2016, when there were over 500 schemes, delivering in excess of 8,400 homes, to a situation where there are now over 770 schemes, with some 12,300 associated units. My Department will be continuing to engage proactively with local authorities and AHBs to expand further the programme of projects in the weeks and months ahead.

Housing Assistance Payment Data

Ceisteanna (16)

Mick Wallace

Ceist:

16. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of HAP tenancies created to date in 2017 throughout the country; the number of HAP tenancies created to date in 2017 in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52269/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a flexible and immediate housing support that is now available to all eligible households throughout the State. There are currently over 30,000 households in receipt of HAP and over 20,000 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to households supported by the scheme.

An accelerated target of an additional 15,000 households to be supported by HAP was set for 2017 under Rebuilding Ireland and I can confirm that this figure has been exceeded. 16,865 additional households have been supported by HAP to date in 2017 across the country, with 522 additional households being supported in the administrative area of Wexford County Council in this period. HAP is proving successful in Wexford with an average of 11 additional households being supported by the scheme every week in 2017.

I am satisfied with how the scheme is currently operating and I consider it to be a key vehicle for meeting housing need and fulfilling the ambitious programme under Rebuilding Ireland.  My Department will continue to keep the operation of the HAP scheme under review.

Approved Housing Bodies

Ceisteanna (17)

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

17. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the status of the possible redesignation of approved housing bodies by EUROSTAT and the CSO; the contingency plans in place to deal with this in order to meet his social housing targets; and his further plans to assist approved housing bodies secure land in order to meet their social housing targets as per Rebuilding Ireland. [52162/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is currently undertaking a review to determine whether the Approved Housing Body sector or part of it should be included as part of the General Government sector and whether AHBs should be classified as ‘on-balance sheet’ or ‘off-balance sheet’ for Government accounting purposes, in accordance with EU rules.

Under a previous review of the sector in 2014, the CSO classified these entities as being outside of the General Government sector.  However, in October 2016, Eurostat requested the CSO to review the classification of AHBs, expressing the view that the role of government financing should be given greater weight in the classification decision than had been the case at the time of the 2014 review. 

While respecting the independence of the CSO and Eurostat my Department has made a number of detailed submissions and has engaged in on-going dialogue with CSO on the matter. The CSO has indicated that it is likely to conclude its review later this month and will then make its submission to Eurostat.

Until the CSO's examination is completed, and factors underlying the position to be adopted by the CSO become clear, I will not be in a position to assess the full impact of any decision made by the CSO.

With regard to the role of Approved Housing Bodies, I am committed to seeing them continuing to play a major role in the delivery of social housing, in line with the policy and targets set out in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan.

Housing Policy

Ceisteanna (18)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Ceist:

18. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the way in which Rebuilding Ireland plans to address the commodification and financialisation of housing; and his view on whether the reliance on acquisitions and leasing from the private market to supply a significant share of social housing will continue this trend. [52063/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

Rebuilding Ireland has put in place the funding required to substantially accelerate the delivery of social housing. I recently secured a further €500m for additional capital investment in the period to 2021, which means that I have been able to increase the overall target for social housing delivery from 47,000 homes to 50,000, supported by over  €6 billion in funding.

Delivery will be achieved using a blended approach, rather than by pursuing "either/or" solutions or a "one size fits all" approach. There is an increasing emphasis on housing construction programmes, and these will deliver approximately 2/3 of the 50,000 homes target. However, we are also pursuing other vehicles that provide opportunities to deliver social housing solutions that can meet the greatest  number of household needs from the available resources. These include leasing and acquisition opportunities to deliver 1/3 of the 50,000 homes target as well as harnessing the capacity of the private rental market through schemes such as the Housing Assistance Payment. The mix of delivery approaches being pursued also reflects the different range of social housing solutions required by different households.

As indicated earlier, there is now a greater emphasis on the building of social housing and a strong pipeline has been established to underpin delivery of these homes. The construction status report to end Quarter 3 2017 was published earlier this week and shows significant growth in the area of new build activity with over 770 schemes now in place delivering some 12,300 units.

I consider that there will always be a role for the private market in the supply of social housing. However, as our construction programmes intensify, the proportion of overall supply sourced through acquisition and leasing will reduce commensurately.

Defective Building Materials

Ceisteanna (19)

Charlie McConalogue

Ceist:

19. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the position regarding a previous commitment (details supplied) to implement emergency measures to rehouse home owners affected by the defective blocks issue that are concerned for their own and families' safety; his plans to address the issue of affected home owners having a mortgage when determining eligibility for social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52069/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government

The commitment given to the homeowners referred to was in respect of the actions being taken by my Department to implement the recommendations of the report of the expert panel established to investigate the problems that have emerged in the concrete blockwork of certain dwellings in Donegal and Mayo. My Department, in particular, is prioritising the implementation of recommendations 1 and 2 of that report.

With regard to recommendation 1, the National Standards Authority of Ireland Technical Committee, which was established to scope and fast track the development of a standardised protocol, is in the process of finalising that standardised protocol, which will be available for public consultation shortly.

With regard to recommendation 2, my Department has been in contact with Engineers Ireland in relation to the establishment of a register of competent engineers for homeowner/affected parties reference.  It should be noted that Engineers Ireland has provided assurance that it will collaborate with my Department, the National Standards Authority of Ireland and relevant parties on measures to establish such a register. 

In addition, and in light of the information contained in the report,  I am currently considering what further actions may be required to assist the parties directly involved in reaching a satisfactory resolution to the problems that have emerged in the two counties.

In relation to the issues raised concerning social housing, the housing regulations provide that a household that applies for long-term social housing support is not eligible for that support if the household member owns alternative accommodation that the household could reasonably be expected to use to meet its housing need, either by occupying it or by selling it, and using the proceeds to secure suitable accommodation.

However, in determining a household’s need for social housing support, local authorities are required to have regard to the household’s current accommodation, specifically its fitness for human habitation, having regard to the matters set out in Housing Act 1966, which includes the stability of the structure. Decisions on the eligibility of individual households for social housing support are a matter for the local authority concerned.

Local Authority Housing Provision

Ceisteanna (20)

Brian Stanley

Ceist:

20. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the action that will be taken to reduce the number of stages of approval that local authority housing schemes must go through within his Department. [52072/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government

Social housing projects funded by my Department, like all publicly funded construction projects, must comply with the Government’s Capital Works Management Framework, the objectives of which are to ensure greater cost certainty, better value for money and financial accountability. There are nine stages under the Capital Works Management Framework, which my Department has streamlined to just four for social housing construction projects.

In order to support the accelerated delivery of social housing homes, a review of the processes and procedures in place for the approval of construction projects was undertaken in February 2017. Arising from this review, a joint working group of the County and City Management Association and my Department was established to implement its key recommendations. 

The working group has agreed an overall target programme of 59 weeks for progressing typical social housing construction projects from stage 1 all the way through to getting on site. It has also produced more detailed guidelines on submissions to be made to my Department. In addition, it has revised the pilot single stage approval process for projects under €2m on foot of feedback from local authorities with the overall aim of increasing take up. Additionally, where local authorities bring forward Design and Build Contracts, for example using the framework for rapid delivery housing projects, the approval process can be tailored to a three stage process.

The Deputy can be assured that my Department is committed to the accelerated delivery of all social housing projects and will work with all local authorities and approved housing bodies to ensure that quality and value for money projects are delivered efficiently and effectively.