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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 68, 70 and 75 together.

On 14 May 2014, the Government published Construction 2020: A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector. Action 1 of the strategy provides that a national framework for housing supply is to be established on a statutory footing with an annual national statement of projected housing supply and demand published every June. I have asked the Housing Agency to take the lead in implementing this action.

The proper management of all State land is critical and, accordingly, both lands that have been transferred to the Housing Agency and local authority held lands suitable for development will be the first sites considered in any future targeted social housing building programme. My Department’s annual housing land availability survey gathers information from local authorities to inform the publication of the amount of zoned residential land in their areas that is currently serviced. It is currently estimated that there is in excess of 25,000 hectares of undeveloped residentially zoned land nationally, which equates to a capacity for over 500,000 new homes based on a national average of 20 units per hectare. This capacity is considered sufficient to meet the housing requirements nationally for in excess of the next ten years.  In line with the commitments under the Construction 2020 strategy, a housing supply co-ordination task force for Dublin has been established with an immediate focus on addressing supply related issues.

Under action 8 of Construction 2020, a social housing strategy is to be published by quarter 3 of 2014. To assist in the development of the social housing strategy, the Housing Agency has invited submissions by 31 July 2014. This invitation for submissions is available at the following website: .

Action 9 of Construction 2020 provides that a review of Part V of the Planning and Development Acts, which, inter alia, deals with affordable housing and social housing gain from private development, will be completed by the end of quarter two of 2014. It is anticipated that any legislative changes required on foot of the review will be incorporated into the general scheme of a planning Bill which is currently in preparation.

I am acutely conscious of the difficulties caused by rising rents and of the problem of sourcing suitable accommodation, especially in Dublin and other urban centres, with growing evidence of increasing rents affecting more vulnerable tenants, such as those in receipt of rent supplement. I have asked the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, to carry out a focused piece of research that will explore options to address the difficulties being experienced in segments of the private rented sector and report to me with policy recommendations in the coming weeks. On 30 April 2014, the Government approved the publication of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014, which, when enacted, will provide for the introduction of the new housing assistance payment, HAP, scheme. HAP will provide a new framework for the provision of rental assistance and will, in as much as it can, facilitate the removal of existing barriers to employment by allowing HAP recipients to remain in the scheme if they gain full-time employment.

I expect the final output across all social housing programmes for 2014 to be in the region of 6,000 new housing units. The number and method of delivery of social housing units in future years is determined in the course of the annual Estimates process and will be informed by the social housing strategy currently in preparation. It will set out clear objectives for delivery over the next five years.

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