I propose to take Questions Nos. 188, 191, 195, 196 and 197 together.
Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.
Under Housing for All, each local authority was required to prepare a Housing Delivery Action Plan. This Plan sets out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. In preparing the Plans, local authorities were required to include details of land available to deliver housing. The Plans also include details of the locations and delivery streams for social housing schemes. The Plans have been published on the local authority’s own websites.
Under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme, funding is available to all local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies to deliver additional social housing stock through direct construction or in partnership with developers through 'turnkey' projects. As such, housing developments are constructed by professional contractors/developers in line with those agreements.
In relation to affordable housing, affordability is at the heart of Housing for All. Since its launch over 3,800 affordable homes have been delivered, supported by the Affordable Housing Fund, the Cost Rental Equity Loan, Project Tosaigh and the First Home Scheme. This momentum will continue as the pipeline of affordable housing delivery is developed and expanded by our delivery partners, including local authorities, AHBs, the LDA, and First Home.
The Government has developed the Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord intends to sell the property but who are not in receipt of social housing supports. The scheme was established on a temporary administrative basis from 1 April 2023 and is managed by the Housing Agency, pending further policy development over the longer term, with the intention of transitioning these tenants and homes to the standard Cost Rental model. I am informed that the Housing Agency are engaging with more than 190 landlords across all Local Authority areas, with a view to the purchase of those homes.
For 2023 and 2024, the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department provided funding for local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes per annum. The additional acquisitions have primarily focused on properties where a tenant is in receipt of social housing supports and has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. My Department issued a circular in March 2023, setting out details of these arrangements.
Each local authority has been provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions in 2024. An increase of 50%, in addition to this initial allocation, has been applied to enable local authorities to acquire homes within these parameters under delegated sanction. Acquisitions above this increased amount are subject to a sanction request. Additional guidance in this regard issued to local authorities in June.
Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) has been identified as a key measure to address the different housing needs in Ireland and methods to support the development of MMC in Ireland are set out in Housing for All.
MMC is the term used to describe a range of manufacturing and innovative construction alternatives to traditional construction, including modular construction. MMC has the potential to boost productivity, increase efficiency and improve sustainability in the construction sector. MMC techniques can speed up the delivery of construction projects by between 20% and 60%.
The coordination of activities to promote MMC adoption is being led by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), through the inter-departmental MMC Leadership and Integration Group (established July 2022). This Group will ensure the integration and coordination of the various Government-supported MMC initiatives – to support innovation in the construction industry.
Such initiatives include:
The Accelerated social housing delivery programme which uses MMC
Publication of the Roadmap for increased adoption of MMC in Public Housing Delivery
The Construct Innovate Technology Centre
The National Demonstration Park for MMC
The National Construction Training Centre
Training for industry, procurers and Building Control in MMC
The establishment of the Timber in Construction Working Group, which, bringing together a range of industry expertise, will be tasked with examining conditions to increase the use of timber in construction.
Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 requires private developers to ensure that a specified percentage of land zoned for residential and other uses is reserved for social and affordable housing. Local authorities negotiate Part V agreements with the developer in line with a range of guidelines and supports aimed at assisting them in maximising the benefits of Part V in the context of its housing needs. Local authorities have a range of options available when negotiating with developers including the transfer of land, the building and transfer of houses, the transfer of houses off-site, granting of a lease of houses, or a combination of these. Subject to the legislative provisions, local authorities are free to decide how the 20% Part V contribution is broken down in terms of social and affordable housing (with a minimum 10% social housing) and by dwelling type. This is done in line with the local authorities housing need as identified in its Housing Strategy made as part of its Development Plan. Part V negotiations are solely a matter for the relevant local authority operating within the Guidelines.
My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority, including completed acquisitions. From 2023, this data includes a breakdown of acquisitions completed by each local authority where a Notice of Termination issued to a tenant and is available, for all local authorities, to the end of Quarter 1 2024 on the statistics page of my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/.
My Department publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR). The CSR provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes.
The most recent publication was for Quarter 1 2024. All Construction Status Reports are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/
A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis by local authority at the link below: www.gov.ie/en/publication/cbe5c-social-housing-construction-projects-status-report-q1-2024/.
Significant progress is being made to deliver the ambitious targets contained in Housing for All and my Department is working closely with the local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and other stakeholders to accelerate the delivery of social and affordable housing.
