Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 May 2024
77. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will consider introducing statutory timeframes for the implementation of housing schemes under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24309/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra124. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will convene a forum between senior officials in his Department and senior officials from across the local authorities to examine where housing schemes are not working or need to be amended to ensure Government policy is being implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24308/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 124 together.
In 2023, nearly 12,000 new social homes were delivered by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies, including 8,110 new-build homes. This represents the highest level of delivery of new-build social housing in half a century. Over 4,000 affordable housing supports were also delivered. This is an increase of 128% on 2022 activity, which highlights the significant progress achieved to date in relation to affordable housing from a standing start.
Timeframes can be impacted by a number of factors including construction material costs, supply chain issues and the impacts of interest rate movements. At a local level, complexities such as legal issues, retendering projects, reviewing the viability of projects, infrastructure challenges and judicial review of planning permissions can also have an impact.
My Department engages continually with local authorities individually and collectively via the Housing Delivery Co-ordination office (HDCO) to drive delivery of social and affordable housing and ensure ongoing oversight of delivery versus targets. The social housing pipeline is constantly updated and monitored as projects go through the various design, procurement, approvals and construction processes so that blockages can be identified and appropriate action taken as needed.
My Department organises the Housing Summit twice yearly. These day-long summits are attended by myself, the Secretary General, Assistant Secretaries and other senior officials from my Department and by the Chief Executives and relevant Directors of Services from all the local authorities. The Housing Summit provides a forum for collaborative engagement between my Department and the local authorities with a focus on discussions around accelerating the delivery of social and affordable housing.
Oversight of Housing for All involves concerted whole-of-government policy implementation with political buy-in, oversight and direction at the highest level accompanied by a rigorous monitoring system to enable delivery. The implementation process for the Housing for All Plan includes political oversight provided by the Cabinet Committee on Housing, chaired by the Taoiseach and a Delivery Group of Secretaries General, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, which is responsible for delivery of all aspects of the Plan and ensuring genuine whole-of-government engagement.
Quarterly Progress Reports are submitted to the Cabinet Committee on Housing and to Government, and are published, setting out performance against the targets and actions set out in the Plan in a clear and comprehensible way. These progress updates provide a transparent overview of performance metrics, covering all major aspects of the Plan. The reports are published on my Department's website.
