Mr. Graham Doyle:

I thank the Chairman. I speak this morning as the Accounting Officer to assist the committee in the examining of the appropriation account of 2023 for Vote 34 and its chapters. The Chairman has introduced my colleagues. Together, we look forward to discussing the expenditure and activity of the Department in 2023 and we have provided an advance briefing for the meeting. As our time is limited, I do not propose to mention every area of expenditure in the opening statement but will touch on some key areas briefly.

I will start by welcoming the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the appropriation account for the Local Government Fund and also on the chapters to be examined over the course of this morning.

At the outset, I would like to mention the scale and breadth of the activities of the Department, which now has eleven divisions and deals with a number of priorities under the programme for Government. While housing is the most high profile of our responsibilities, this Department has a diverse range of other responsibilities and a wide remit across a number of additional areas including water, local government, electoral reform, planning, Met Éireann and heritage. The focus and commitment of staff working in the Department, and indeed across more than 20 bodies under our aegis, together with local authority partners and stakeholders, is very significant.

Total gross expenditure in respect of the Department’s strategic programmes reached €6.8 billion in 2023. Exchequer expenditure of €6.3 billion was supplemented by capital carryover from 2022 of €340 million plus €168 million from local property tax receipts, which was used by certain local authorities to fund a range of housing programmes. The Exchequer funding element comprised €2.9 billion in current expenditure and €3.6 billion in capital expenditure, including capital carryover.

During 2023, positive indicators emerged in terms of the critical objective of increasing overall housing supply. The number of new homes delivered during 2023 overall reached 32,695, an increase of 10% on delivery in 2022 and exceeding Housing for All’s 2023 target of 29,000.

By the end of 2023, the pipeline for future growth was also strong, with 32,800 new homes commencing construction in 2023. Planning permission was granted for 41,000 new homes in 2023, an increase of approximately 20% on the previous year. Furthermore, by the end of the year, the Land Development Agency had existing planning permission for over 5,000 affordable homes on State-owned or State-acquired land, with many projects already under construction and others at an advanced planning stage. While these indicators demonstrated a strong year-on-year upward trajectory, at a broader level we continue to see major challenges around increased demand, increased costs and complex issues around unlocking supply at the pace and scale required. This will remain an area of acute focus for the Department.

In the area of social and affordable housing, almost 12,000 new social homes were delivered through social housing build, acquisition and leasing programmes in 2023. The launch of the new secure tenancy affordable rental investment scheme, STAR, also provided a new vehicle to invest up to €750 million in the delivery of over 4,000 cost-rental homes.

Along with new homes, initiatives to make homes more affordable, like the first home scheme and help-to-buy, also had a real impact. Existing vacant and derelict homes were also brought back into use, with just over 3,000 vacant property refurbishment grant applications approved during the year. Close to 2,500 couples and individuals availed of the first-home scheme and 7,266 couples and individuals availed of the help-to-buy scheme. Overall, over 4,000 affordable housing options were delivered in 2023 across the range of affordable housing schemes, an increase of 128% on the previous year, highlighting the significant progress achieved in relation to developing and expanding the affordable pipeline. Affordable housing schemes are now operating at scale and the affordable housing programme has continued to be expanded and developed by all delivery partners.

Urgent delivery of social and affordable homes is not just about numbers and statistics. We are keenly aware of the impact that social and affordable housing provision has on the households and families who receive the keys to their homes. This urgency is also felt by our many delivery partners across the local authority and approved housing body sector. We continue to work proactively with all of our key stakeholders to create the conditions that facilitate increased housing supply across the country.

Addressing homelessness remains one of the most acute priorities of the Government and this Department. In 2023, funding of in excess of €317 million was provided to local authorities towards the provision of homelessness services. This funding ensured there was sufficient accommodation for those who needed it and the continuation of prevention and tenancy sustainment measures, including essential outreach services and on the ongoing provision of Housing First. At the end of 2023, the total number of people being supported in homelessness emergency accommodation was 13,318. This represented a 14.5% year-on-year increase, totalling 1,686 people. There was a total of 6,848 adult exits and preventions from homelessness in 2023, a 25% increase on 2022 figures. This increase in preventions and exits was aided by the tenant in situ scheme. In 2023, an additional 320 tenancies were recorded nationwide under the Housing First national implementation plan. This brought the total number of tenancies to 560 under the current plan, exceeding the two-year target.

Overall, planning reform was a key focus in 2023, with the Planning and Development Bill published in November 2023 and completed last year. In light of the growing demands on planning authorities, in October 2023, the Department confirmed approval for the filling of an initial 100 posts in the local authority planning service and approval was also granted for additional resources in An Bord Pleanála.

Moving to water, water services continue to undergo a significant period of reform in the delivery of services. In 2023, the Department continued to work closely with stakeholders including Uisce Éireann, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and local authorities. The framework for future delivery of water services provides the basis for Uisce Éireann to work with local authorities to complete the integration of public water services. Local authorities will cease involvement in the direct provision of water services from December 2026.

The Government’s voted Exchequer investment in Uisce Éireann is substantial under the NDP. Over €1.6 billion was spent by Uisce Éireann in 2023 to service existing schemes and deliver new water infrastructure and investment. This investment in public water services is vital to maintain and enhance infrastructure, safeguard public health, ensure environmental compliance by adequately treating wastewater and support the delivery of housing and other economic activity. Uisce Éireann delivered a record level of capital investment of over €1 billion in 2023, mainly driven by mains rehab and above-ground capital programmes. The Government is delivering a sustainable funding path to further enhance the ongoing significant improvements in our public water and wastewater services and this level of investment will continue under the NDP. To conclude on water, I wish to mention the almost €62 million that was provided in 2023 for the rural water scheme. Certainty for priority investment has been put in place through a multi-annual capital programme aimed at improving the reliability and efficiency of rural water services infrastructure.

As I said at the outset, the brevity of my statement does not facilitate lengthy discussion on all activities, and I have not gone into detail on the activities during 2023 in local government, heritage and Met Éireann where considerable, valued work was undertaken, supported by significant Exchequer investment. However, I and my colleagues will of course be happy to discuss these areas with the committee during this morning’s session.

In conclusion, I again note the ongoing co-operation of all stakeholders involved in the delivery of a work programme of the scale undertaken by this Department. The Department, its agencies and our partners for delivery, including the local authorities, NGOs and AHBs, continue to be acutely focused on achieving the best for the public.