Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
1496. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount spent on constructing residential units on State owned land in each of the years 2012 to 2017 and to date in 2018; the model used to construct residential units on State owned land; if a form of public private partnership is used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16622/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra1620. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of residential units that have been constructed on State owned lands in each of the years 2012 to 2017 and to date in 2018; the number of residential units in the planning process to be built on State owned land; the number of residential units with An Bord Pleanála to be built on State owned land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16625/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 1496 and 1620 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, residential construction on state lands over the period 2012-2017 has been primarily for social housing purposes.
Through the supports made available from my Department, funding is available to all local authorities to deliver additional social housing stock through new construction projects, through the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments and through working with approved housing bodies under a range of delivery options.
Details on the number of properties purchased and built in each local authority area, for letting to those on the social housing waiting lists, are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/node/6338.
Information on quarter four of 2017 is currently being finalised and will be published shortly. It should be noted that the total build output may also include a small number of turnkey developments not built on State lands but funded through the same capital programme. In addition to direct build projects, local authorities are also delivering additional social housing units, in partnership with approved housing bodies, on local authority land.
In relation to the amount spent on constructing residential units on State owned land in each of the years 2012 to 2017, the following table sets out the expenditure on local authority social housing build over the period 2012 to date. This does not include Part V, Turnkey or approved housing body schemes.
|
Year |
Total €m |
|
2018 (to 13/4/18) |
41.94 |
|
2017 |
109.47 |
|
2016 |
35.46 |
|
2015 |
29.73 |
|
2014 |
24.46 |
|
2013 |
28.49 |
|
2012 |
44.51 |
In relation to the number of residential units in the planning process to be built on State owned land, at end February 2018, approximately 3,000 social housing units were advancing through the Part 8 planning process. The Department is not aware of any developments for residential units to be built on other publicly owned land which are currently with An Bord Pleanála.
The delivery of additional social and affordable homes, to buy or rent, will rely on the State developing the full potential of its residential land bank. Following the second Housing Summit in January 2018, local authorities were asked to submit their plans to develop their land bank for social and wider housing development, including an outline of their respective proposed affordable housing programmes and to indicate their social housing delivery out to 2021. My Department is currently working through these returns and I will be announcing delivery targets for all local authorities very shortly.
From a longer-term strategic perspective, as part of Project Ireland 2040, the Government announced on 16 February its intention to establish a new National Regeneration and Development Agency, which will have a role in managing the State's wider publicly-owned land bank to ensure that overall development needs, including housing, are met. The new Agency will work closely with local authorities, Government Departments, Agencies and other State and semi-State bodies to secure the best use of public lands and ensure the delivery on the objectives of the National Planning Framework and the National Development Plan.
Regarding the social housing Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme, which the Deputy refers to, this provides for an investment of €300 million and is expected to deliver 1,500 social housing units in total, via three bundles. The first bundle, comprises six PPP sites delivering over 500 units in the greater Dublin area. Two of the sites are located in Dublin City, with one each in South Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Louth. Dublin City Council has been appointed to act as the lead local authority for the delivery of this first bundle. The second bundle, comprising eight PPP sites, will deliver over 450 units across the country. Three of the sites are located in County Cork, with one each in the cities of Galway and Waterford. There is a further one site in each of counties Clare, Kildare and Roscommon. Cork County Council is the lead local authority for this bundle. Sites for the third bundle are currently being identified and will be announced in the coming months.
The PPP programme complements the increased exchequer-funded capital expenditure, which is part of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan. It allows for more social housing to be built in the context of available State resources. The sites being used will remain in local authority ownership and are being provided under licence for the duration of the 25-year PPP contract. The PPP programme is based on what is termed an ‘availability-based’ PPP model, in which a private sector company designs, builds, finances and maintains the social housing units over a 25 year period in return for a monthly ‘unitary payment’. The housing units will be handed back to the local authority after 25 years in a predefined, good quality condition. The sites will remain in State ownership for the entire period.
It should be noted that the Office of Public Works (OPW) has the central role in managing the State’s diverse property portfolio, and is responsible for co-ordinating policy in maintaining and efficiently organising the property asset portfolio of the State.
