Mr. Michael Layde:

I thank the Chairman and members for their invitation to appear before the joint committee. We have circulated a lengthy statement and I will synopsise it for the purpose of this discussion.

Significant progress has been made to date in the introduction of the housing assistance payment, HAP, involving the transfer of long-term rent supplement recipients to housing authorities. The framework for this is provided for in the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014, which will be before the House again this evening.

The key parts of the Bill provide for a new procedure to replace section 62 of the Housing Act 1966 that will enable housing authorities to recover possession of their dwellings from households in serious breach of their tenancy agreements, including engaging in anti-social behaviour. An incremental purchase scheme for existing houses is also provided and that will replace the 1995 tenant purchase scheme. There is a legal framework for the housing assistance payment, which will include provision for a direct deduction of rental contributions from welfare payments.

In essence the new housing support mechanism will facilitate the transfer of responsibility for the provision of rental assistance to households with a long-term housing need from the Department of Social Protection, from which it is currently provided through the rent supplement scheme, to housing authorities. Following the introduction of the housing assistance payment, rent supplement will continue to be operated by the Department of Social Protection for households in the private rented sector which in the main will support people who have become unemployed and therefore require short-term income support to pay their rent. A key feature of the new payment scheme is that those in the scheme will be allowed to remain in the scheme following their return to employment, thus removing a significant barrier to employment. The roll-out of the scheme on a pilot administrative basis has been in place since the end of March in Limerick city and county where it began. The intention is to extend it to six further local authorities following enactment of the Bill.

As the Chairman has said, the main issue we will discuss is meeting social housing demand. The budgetary provision for the Department's housing programme, at more than €587 million in 2014, is effectively maintained at 2013 levels. This is a change from the pattern of recent years in which we faced reductions in allocation. In the region of €273 million of our budget is allocated to housing. Compared to 2008 when close on 8,500 new social housing units were delivered at a cost of more than €1.1 billion, we now have to explore alternative housing supply routes to address housing needs. The Minister has signalled a return to modest levels of new housing construction with an announcement last months of 1,000 new starts during 2014-2015. The intention is to build on this by way of a rolling programme as the State's finances permit. Around 6,000 social housing units from various sources will be provided during 2014.

The 2014 Budget Statement included a special provision of €50 million to fund infrastructural investment primarily in the housing area. Some €15 million of this is being set aside to support the social housing construction programme. During the next two years, an investment of €68 million in a local authority house building programme will deliver some 442 social units for families in need of housing.

As part of the Government's €200 million stimulus package announced in May, a further €50 million will be provided for social housing delivery. Some €20 million of this will go towards new local authority construction and €20 million will be used to fund the refurbishment of an additional 1,000 vacant units and €10 million will be used for the acquisition of properties in the Dublin area to meet urgent homelessness needs.

We are targeting voids. A sum of €15 million was ring-fenced for a new initiative aimed at returning vacant and boarded-up houses to productive use. It will cost approximately €16,000 per unit and in unit cost terms this is very good value for money. It will be possible to retrofit some 952 properties to a high standard which will become immediately available to families on waiting lists. This is one of quickest and most cost-effective ways of increasing the housing stock. It has positive spin offs in terms of local employment and improving the quality of neighbourhoods around the country. The additional stimulus funding of €20 million will enable the refurbishment of a further 1,000 vacant properties. We hope that up to 900 of the properties will be completed before the end of 2014. A priority is that people with a disability and older people will be accommodated and €10 million of the budget day stimulus fund has been allocated to grants for older people and people with a disability. The schemes have been reviewed and are now targeted at certain groups. Funding is up 12% on last year's allocation and we would expect an additional 800 households will benefit in the coming year.

Other lines of spending contribute to meeting demand and includes the capital assistance scheme, which provides funding to approved housing bodies. Approximately €30 million will be available this year to fund projects that are under way and to progress new ones and we expect that 350 new homes will be delivered during 2014-2015, including almost 200 units for homeless people. In addition, and as a result of a special initiative to address homelessness, funding of more than €10 million has been allocated for the acquisition of 66 units in the Dublin city area. The role of the approved housing bodies, AHBs, has expanded greatly in recent years and will continue to be very important in the years ahead.

Regeneration remains a priority. The most significant regeneration programme ever undertaken in the country, Ballymun, is now nearing completion and since 1999 some 2,000 new social homes have been provided and almost 1,400 new private homes and a new main street, public parks and community projects have been funded. The capital provision for regeneration this year is €70 million. The wind-down of Ballymun will facilitate the expansion of regeneration activities in Dublin city, Cork city, Limerick city and elsewhere.

The Government is committed to addressing homelessness in a holistic and comprehensive way to end involuntary long-term homelessness by 2016.

A policy implementation team is in place at senior level to drive the implementation plan, recently approved by Government. The team will report on a quarterly basis to the Cabinet committee on social policy.

Recently the Government produced a strategy for the construction sector which is designed to tackle the various issues to which the chairman alluded, which present in terms of the housing market generally and the delivery of housing supply. Within that the Department has a particular focus on the social housing space and is mandated by the construction strategy to produce a social housing strategy by the end of quarter three this year. Obviously we have commenced work on that already. The strategy will contain clear and measurable actions that are to be taken to increase the supply of social housing where it is most needed and, most important, reduce the number of people on housing waiting lists in the next five years. Our priority, therefore, must be to match housing supply with demographic factors and to provide social housing supports in an affordable and sustainable way. It is essential that the State continues to put in place the basis for a significant and continuing supply of accommodation for social housing purposes and to address housing need in a flexible, co-ordinated and diverse way. It cannot be the one-size-fits-all solutions we were in a position to afford in the past.

The Government's 2011 housing policy statement outlines that the priority for Government is to meet the most acute needs of households applying for social housing support and that must continue to be the case. After my colleague has made her statement we will be happy to take questions.