Mr. Owen Keegan:

I thank the Chair, Deputies and Senators for the opportunity today to brief them on DCC’s housing delivery programme. I set out in the opening statement our delivery over the three years from 2019 to 2021. We delivered just under 1,200 new social housing units. We had just under 1,200 acquisitions and a more than 10,100 rental accommodation scheme, RAS, housing assistance payment, HAP, and leasing agreements, the majority of which were HAP. The past few years have been challenging in regard to social housing delivery. Covid-19 lockdowns, curtailed supply chains, high construction price inflation and general market uncertainty have all disrupted new housing delivery.

In regard to projected social housing delivery, DCC is conscious of the State’s requirement for public housing and we are supportive of the targets set out under Housing For All. We recognise and accept the need to significantly increase new build delivery and to move away from delivery via leasing and other arrangements. DCC has a strong pipeline with designated sites that cover the delivery of more than 15,000 social, cost rental and affordable sales homes that we plan to deliver in the coming years. In 2022, we are confident of meeting our delivery target of 895 new build homes. We have diversified our delivery methods, which now include direct build, public-private partnerships, the housing land initiative, competitive dialogue, partnerships with approved housing bodies, AHBs, and the Land Development Agency, LDA, turnkey acquisitions and Part Vs.

The environment for new housing delivery, both public and private, is particularly difficult at present. There are many issues, including labour, construction inflation and supply chain issues and in regard to the private housing market affordability and restricted access to construction capital.

I will say a few words on Part V. It has been very significant in terms of our housing delivery. Over the past three years, 309 units were delivered via Part V and this year we are forecasting 306 units with approximately 350 in pipeline for 2023. Part V delivery is fully reliant on overall private market delivery and any downturn in the private market will affect the supply of Part V units.

Reference was made in the request to attend this meeting to vacancy and dereliction. We are very conscious of the issues surrounding vacancy and dereliction and the importance of bringing unused housing back into the housing stock. I appreciate it is a great frustration to members, public representatives generally and, indeed, to the general public to see unused properties at a time of major demand for housing. However, it is important to recognise that every derelict home is vacant but not every vacant home is derelict. There is significant confusion in people’s minds between legislation dealing with vacant sites and derelict sites and the powers local authorities have to deal with vacant housing units that are neither derelict nor a site. Dealing with vacant or derelict housing units must be seen as a social intervention rather than a purely economic intervention. There are significant complexities and costs in acquiring and redeveloping these housing units. Frequently the rehabilitation of vacant units does not offer value for money in strict financial terms.

There are various interventions available to deal with vacancy and dereliction. The repair and leasing and buy and renew schemes and the Living City initiative all provide support to citizens and the local authority in bringing derelict and vacant units back into use. We are very committed to co-operating with these schemes. We welcome recent changes, particularly to the Living City initiative and the recently announced vacant homes tax, which will certainly assist in dealing with vacancy and dereliction.

The issue of vacant commercial and retail units being repurposed for housing is being considered by the city council but there are very significant difficulties in terms of compliance with planning and building regulations. I can confirm we have a full-time vacant homes officer and dedicated vacant homes team and have identified approximately 650 vacant homes with potential for redevelopment. To date, approximately 48 of these have been redeveloped and returned to use. We will be expanding that team in 2023.

The city council currently has 77 sites or properties on its derelict sites register. The vast majority of these are residential with the remaining being mixed-use industrial development type sites. Sites can remain on the derelict sites register for a significant time despite the imposition of a levy with interest. So far over the past two years, we have acquired 35 properties that were on our derelict site register. Some 34 of those properties have been repurposed as social housing units and one has been sold on. We have a big programme of acquisition under the Derelict Sites Act and repurposing of properties. We will be happy to take any questions.