Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 February 2019
654. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans for increasing housing supply in the South Dublin County Council area; the timeframe for same (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7891/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraIncreasing housing supply and dealing with homelessness is, and will remain, a top priority for the Government until such time as annual housing supply returns to the levels required. In that regard, through a concerted and sustained effort across Government, our comprehensive Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan is having a real impact.
Statistics from the Central Statistics Office show that over 18,000 new homes were built in Ireland last year, an increase of 25% on 2017. In terms of social housing, the level of new build activity has increased eight-fold since 2015, the year before Rebuilding Ireland was launched, reaching some 4,250 homes last year.
Details of the social housing construction programme, broken down by local authority area, including for South Dublin, is set out in the Social Housing Construction Status Report which is published on a quarterly basis. The report covering the period up to end Quarter 3 of 2018 is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-quarter-3-social-housing-construction-report/. The report to end Q4 of 2018 will be published shortly.
Furthermore, South Dublin County Council, is progressing a major housing project, encompassing 975 new homes, on a 72 acre site at Kilcarbery, Clondalkin. Almost 300 of the homes will be for social housing purposes with a further 100 social housing homes being provided under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) on adjacent land. The project is due to commence on site later this year.
I will shortly be issuing social housing targets for 2019 to all local authorities, including to South Dublin County Council. Progress against these targets will be published on a quarterly basis giving visibility to all stakeholders on the delivery of social housing in each local authority area.
