Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 June 2018
48. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of direct builds by each of the 31 local authorities in 2017; his views on the fact that 11 local authorities built zero homes; his further views on whether there may be an over reliance on private sector turnkey units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26823/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2017, local authorities and approved housing bodies delivered 2,297 build homes across the country. This comprised 1,014 homes delivered by local authorities, 761 build homes delivered by approved housing bodies and a further 522 Part V homes were delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies. In addition, a further 1,757 social homes were provided for new tenants under the Department-funded voids programme.
The significant expansion of the social housing build programme is evident in the Quarter 4 2017 Social Housing Construction Status Report, which was published on 19 April 2018. The programme includes 846 schemes (or Phases) at the end of last year, delivering 13,400 homes, a very substantial increase on the 8,430 homes in the programme a year earlier. At end 2017, 2,592 homes were completed, with another 3,646 under construction and a further 1,912 homes about to go on site. The full report can be accessed on the Rebuilding Ireland website at:
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-q4-2017/.
Given that the scale and pace of local authority building activity are targeted to continue to increase, additional resources, including technical resources which during the inactive years had been lost to local authorities, continue to be replenished. Streamlined approval processes for capital projects have also been put in place, including a revised single stage approval process.
Local authorities and approved housing bodies are being asked to actively utilise turnkeys, along with all other delivery mechanisms. Turnkeys are a good source of social housing that can often be quickly delivered, at value for money prices. In many cases, these projects would not go ahead without the certainty of the end purchaser and they are of particular use where the local Authority or approved housing body have limited or no lands available for housing in an area.
