Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2020
378. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the degree to which he expects to be in a position to assist the public housing capital programme with particular reference to meeting targets in 2020 and subsequent years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27258/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am engaging with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform as part of the budgetary process, including ensuring that we have sufficient capital, and current, budgets to meet the targets, and most importantly the need arising for households in 2021 and beyond.
Of course, the term public capital housing programme is not reflective of the full breadth of social housing delivery activity, which has evolved significantly over the past 20 years or so. The scale of housing needed now, following the economic downturn and consequential curtailment of supply, means that we must deploy multiple programmes, using a blend of capital and current funding, to meet the immediate, mid-term and long-term needs of households.
Next year, the target is to deliver over 12,000 long-term housing supports for families and individuals. This will include building by local authorities on local authority land, local authorities working with developers to provide housing where demand is high and land is neither available or active, approved housing bodies delivering new build at scale, public private partnerships delivering social homes, Part V, acquisitions and leasing.
Since 2013, the capital investment in housing has increased from just under €300m to the over €1.5bn available in 2020. By using blended delivery, we maximise the output for that investment.
