Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As outlined in the Government’s housing policy statement of 2011, the main focus in terms of housing supports provided by Government will be on meeting acute needs, with increased reliance on more flexible, revenue-based approaches based around the rental accommodation scheme, the leasing of properties and the use of private finance by approved housing bodies for the construction and purchase of properties. The constraints on the State’s finances and the necessity to reduce public expenditure to sustainable levels rule out a return to large-scale local authority housing construction programmes. That said, I recently signalled a return to modest levels of new social housing construction, with 1,000 new starts expected over the period 2014-15. Four hundred of these will be delivered under the local authority housing programme, 250 will be delivered by approved housing bodies and 350 new homes will be provided under regeneration. I will be making more detailed announcements with regard to each of these measures shortly, including in relation to projects in Kildare. In addition, my Department and the Housing Agency continue to engage with NAMA to ensure continued delivery of housing units for social use.

This year, in addition to the funding levels set out in the abridged Estimates for 2014 in respect of my Department’s social housing investment programme, a further €30 million has been approved for the delivery of social housing. Some €15 million of this will go towards the local authority construction programme, with €15 million being invested in bringing boarded-up houses back into productive use. As a result, I expect that some 450 vacant houses will be made available to persons on housing waiting lists this year.

In terms of the consultation process, my Department’s housing division maintains regular and effective communication with housing authorities on key housing priorities. This is greatly facilitated through the City and County Managers' Association, which has a dedicated housing sub-committee comprising a representative group of managers and directors of housing. Meetings between this group and my Department take place at regular intervals, including twice-yearly plenary sessions with all directors of housing in attendance. My Department will also be meeting with directors of housing from all local authorities shortly as part of our annual housing action plan process. These routine meetings at housing practitioner level provide a forum for effective oversight of capital budgets and housing programme management.

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