Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2627. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the funding applications made by Cork County Council for the provision of social housing in locations (details supplied) in 2017 and to date in 2018. [32700/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs housing authorities, local authorities, including Cork County Council, are responsible for the identification of social housing need in their area and for the development of appropriate responses to the need identified. My Department is supporting local authorities and approved housing bodies in the provision of social housing across build, lease and acquisition programmes.
Over the period 2016-2021, the Government is committed to the provision of 50,000 social housing homes. Cork County Council, over the course of 2016 and 2017, has delivered over 630 additional homes under these programmes, and has a target to deliver a further 2,154 such homes across the period 2018 to 2021.
Local authorities now have substantial pipelines of new build social housing projects, details of which can be seen in the quarterly social housing construction status reports published by my Department. The most recently available report sets out the position as at end first quarter 2018 and is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-q1-2018/. This report lists approved projects within the Cork County area, submitted by Cork County Council and approved housing bodies, AHBs.
My Department also publishes a wide range of statistical information in relation to other housing delivery mechanisms, including the number of houses that have been built, acquired or leased by local authorities. These statistics are available on my Department's website at the following link: www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
Funding is provided by my Department to local authorities to acquire a range of properties for social housing use. Identifying and undertaking such social housing acquisitions is largely delegated to local authorities, so that they may respond flexibly to all opportunities to provide new social housing. Such funding is provided on the basis that the houses are suitable for social housing use and suitable also across a range of other considerations including value for money, design, planning and other compliances. As the housing authority for its area, it is a matter for Cork County Council, in the first instance, to determine the suitability of any units for acquisition, including the appropriateness of acquisitions by AHBs for social housing purposes.
