Mr. Graham Doyle:

Of course, Chairman. I am pleased to be here to discuss the various areas that you have outlined. You have already introduced my colleagues. We look forward to discussing the expenditure and activity of the Department in 2021 with the committee. I will not go through every area of expenditure across our very broad remit, but I will touch on some key areas briefly.

I have provided some advance briefing for the meeting, including briefing on the value-for-money Standing Order 218, along with a copy of my opening statement. I will start by welcoming the work of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the engagement of his team with the Department over the course of the audit. On the basis of recommendations, we will continue to evolve and mature our systems and reporting in line with best practice.

The Department's gross expenditure in 2021, as set out in the Appropriation Account, totalled more than €5.1 billion. This was 2% below the outturn for 2020, due mainly to more targeted Covid-19 support payments to the local government sector in 2021 versus a higher amount in 2020. The year 2020 was a very challenging one for Ireland, and while at the outset of 2021 we were initially optimistic for a return to pre-pandemic activity and expenditure, 2021 in fact was an even more challenging year on many fronts. As we contended with the continued reality of Covid-19, the pace of delivery anticipated at the outset was simply not possible. Construction closures, social distancing measures, workforce impacts and supply chain issues had a significant impact on delivery and consequently on expenditure. However, that did not mean that areas of work stopped. The Department continued to work in delivering emergency legislation, ensuring that vulnerable households were protected, delivering cross-government supports and in preparing the new Housing for All strategy, which was published in September 2021.

Housing for All was launched by the Government in September 2021. It has the objective that every citizen in the State should have access to good quality homes, to purchase or rent at an affordable price and built to a high standard and in the right place and offering good quality of life. This is a whole-of-government plan involving leadership and close collaboration across many Departments.

In support of Housing for All, the Department's gross voted expenditure on housing programmes was approximately €2.8 billion in 2021, with additional funding available through the local property tax. Social housing represents a large proportion of expenditure under the housing programme, both for existing social homes and adding new social housing stock. New social housing is achieved under the main headings of build, acquisition and leasing. Rental supports under the housing assistance payment, HAP, and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, are also provided. A broad range of services are provided including services for homeless households, supports for older people and people with a disability, Traveller accommodation, energy efficiency retrofits, pyrite and defective concrete block remediation.

In terms of affordable housing, the Affordable Housing Act 2021 established the basis for new affordable purchase and cost-rental schemes, which commenced in 2022. Despite the very challenging impact of Covid-19 on construction activity, the second half of 2021 saw some rebound with local authorities, approved housing bodies and other delivery partners seeking to make up lost ground. A total of 9,169 new social homes were provided in 2021, and almost 5,196 of these were new-build homes delivered through local authorities and approved housing bodies. Some 1,262 were targeted acquisitions by local authorities and approved housing bodies and 2,711 homes under leasing programmes.

The challenges of 2021 have given way to further challenges in the construction sector with very high levels of inflation, supply chain issues and in particular, higher interest rates across 2022. However, the Department remains focused on seeking to bring about new supply of social and affordable homes under the ambition set in Housing for All.

Water services continue to undergo a significant period of reform in the approach to the delivery of water services and the promotion of wider environmental protection. Irish Water is now a stand-alone company in public ownership as a regulated utility. The Government's voted Exchequer investment in Uisce Éireann as it is now known, is substantial, and has been growing steadily in recent years, supported now with the revised NDP to bring certainty of investment in the years ahead. Almost €1.3 billion was spent by Uisce Éireann in 2021 to service existing schemes and deliver new water infrastructure and investment. This investment is vital to: maintain and enhance water services; safeguard public health; and ensure compliance by treating wastewater.

While Uisce Éireann was focused on its capital programme in 2021 and again in 2022, there are significant infrastructure deficits to be addressed. The Government has committed to a high level of investment under the national development plan, NDP.

In terms of the rural water programme, in 2021 some €48 million was provided across both capital and current funding structures. 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.

On local government, as chapter 6 shows, transfers of funding from central government sources to local authorities totalled some €5.8 billion in 2021. While funding is significantly up since 2016; this was a decrease of 5% from the 2020 level. Again, that was mainly due to changes in the level of Government supports.

As the Comptroller and Auditor General indicated, a number of Departments, including our own, and the Department of Transport, provide this funding to local authorities. The Local Government Fund, LGF, is a special Central Fund, which was established under the Local Government Act 1998. The profile of income and expenditure of the Local Government Fund has undergone significant changes in recent years. Income for the fund comes from the Exchequer and local property tax.

I have outlined some of the main payments so I will skip that in the interests of time. Further areas of expenditure in the 2021 Appropriation Account include: in the planning area, provision for the costs of An Bord Pleanála, the Land Development Agency, LDA, and the Office of the Planning Regulator, amounting collectively to €37 million, as well as provision for the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, foreshore and marine spatial planning; Met Éireann costs; and heritage expenditure across a wide range of activities.

In conclusion, 2021 and 2022 brought challenges to which the Department and our partners have had to respond. We are very much looking forward to adapting to these challenges, and to strive to achieve ambitious targets in place across our very broad remit this year and into the future. I note the ongoing co-operation by all stakeholders involved in the delivery of a work programme of the scale undertaken by the Department. The Department, its agencies and our partners for delivery, including the non-governmental organisations, NGO, and approved housing bodies, AHB, sectors, continue to focus on achieving the best for citizens. I look forward to engaging with the committee this morning and to providing as much information as possible. We are very happy to come back to the committee to provide anything further that is required.