I propose to take Questions Nos. 638 and 639 together.
The Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) supports the delivery of social housing by providing financial support to local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) for the leasing of houses and apartments. These properties are either privately owned or owned by AHBs. Properties made available under the programme are used to accommodate households from local authority waiting lists.
Details of the total number of properties operational under SHCEP at the end of each of the years 2011 to 2017 are provided below in tabular form. My Department is currently gathering data from local authorities for Quarter 1 of 2018 and this will be published on my Department's website as soon as it is available
Year
|
Dwellings operational under SHCEP
|
2011
|
2,496
|
2012
|
3,701
|
2013
|
4,600
|
2014
|
5,622
|
2015
|
7,099
|
2016
|
8,366
|
2017
|
10,152
|
In total, it is estimated that an additional 21,100 dwellings will be incrementally supported under SHCEP in the period from 2018 to 2021. This includes dwellings to be sourced through long-term lease arrangements from a range of different sources, the Repair and Leasing Scheme and properties which will be delivered by AHBs through a combination of the support under my Department's Capital Advance Loan Facility (CALF) and private borrowings, including from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA).
The annual cost of SHCEP to the Exchequer is made up of the continuing cost of supporting existing tenancies and contracts in place at the end of the previous year together with the additional cost of the new tenancies and contracts supported over the course of the year to which the allocation relates. Exchequer funding for SHCEP in 2018 is €115m – an increase of €31m over 2017. Details of the funding drawn-down by local authorities under SHCEP from 2011 to 2017, and for the first quarter of 2018, are provided below in tabular form.
Period
|
SHCEP Expenditure
|
2011
|
€13,817,464
|
2012
|
€20,814,526
|
2013
|
€27,362,6145
|
2014
|
€34,844,780
|
2015
|
€42,275,724*
|
2016
|
€54,028,752
|
2017
|
€84,050,743
|
Q1 2018
|
€14,016,737
|
*Of this figure, a total of €7,933,651 was self-funded by local authorities using funding from their RAS Reserve.