Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy will be aware, housing is one of the most pressing issues facing our country. Our economy has recovered even faster than we might have hoped at the start of our Administration and one of the implications of the recovery and the employment growth it has delivered has been a resurgent demand for housing, principally in the areas that first experienced the benefit of the recovery, particularly Dublin and Cork. Construction, or an unsustainable reliance on it as a driver, rather than facilitator, of our economy, played a dominant role in our previous economic collapse and is the sector taking the longest to restructure. Accordingly, the Government has put in place a range of initiatives to address the gap that has emerged between housing demand and supply. The Government's Construction 2020 strategy foresaw the difficulties and specifically mandated my Department to establish a Dublin housing supply and co-ordination task force. While the Construction 2020 measures will begin to have wider effects in reducing costs and improving affordability from 2018 onwards, analysis has shown that an even more immediate and short-term initiative is required in Dublin and Cork.

The latest figures for Dublin, for example, show that house completions for the first nine months of 2015 were down 14% on the first nine months of 2014 and are likely to meet just one third of requirements. Analysis undertaken by the Dublin housing supply and co-ordination task force and other local authorities at the same time shows that there is planning permission for 21,000 units across the four Dublin local authorities and for 3,000 units in Cork.

I would like to address the Deputy's issues in Galway. The authorities in the city are to be congratulated on keeping a measured approach to housing during the Celtic tiger period. Perhaps having just one ghost estate is something to be extremely proud of. The Government has decided to introduce supply-related measures. I refer to the time-limited development contribution rebate, which is designed to enhance the viability of construction at locations of greatest need and at price points that people can afford. Therefore, this initiative is logically targeted at the Dublin local authority areas and at Cork city and suburbs. It has already been mentioned that the inadequacy of supply of affordable housing is most acute in such areas. The development contribution rebate is an aspect of the Government's overall package on housing that is targeted in Dublin and Cork for housing delivered at certain price points. This package, which contains a broader range of measures to stimulate and facilitate the provision of housing supply nationally, will benefit all areas and regional cities, including Galway. These measures include changes to planning guidelines on apartment standards. The State's strategic investment fund will support the delivery of enabling infrastructure. Measures are being introduced to maximise the potential of strategic development zones. NAMA is introducing measures to finance the delivery of 20,000 residential units by 2020. I will conclude by reiterating that with the exception of the development contribution rebate, the Government's actions on the urgent and pressing issue of housing development will support regional cities like Galway.

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