Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In October 2015, the Government approved the delivery of 500 units of rapid delivery housing for homeless households currently residing in commercial hotels across Dublin. An initial 22 units have been delivered in Poppintree, Ballymun, and another 131 units are expected for completion on four sites in Dublin city between October and December this year, following completion of site preparation works already under way. A further 350 units will be provided across the four Dublin authorities through a national procurement framework overseen by the Office of Government Procurement, OGP, which will be in place by the end of summer. The OGP's procurement framework will be available to all local authorities nationally.

The Taoiseach and I met local authority chief executives on 12 May and I outlined my ambition that the delivery of homes under each of the social housing programmes be accelerated and that the targets be exceeded if possible. I emphasised in particular the potential for an increase in rapid delivery units. In that regard, I have asked all local authority chief executives, particularly those in urban areas, to revert to my Department with proposals that can ramp up the delivery significantly on a national basis.

The delivery of individual social housing construction projects, including the procurement of rapid delivery units, is a matter for the relevant housing authority. In delivering projects, authorities must have regard to instructions and guidance for the management of projects set out in the capital appraisal guidelines and the capital works management framework. In addition, authorities must have regard to guidance documents that have issued from my Department, specifically relating to the social housing investment programme, which require authorities to consider various criteria, including cost and value for money. Ultimately, competitive procurement processes will play a key role in ensuring the best possible value is achieved.

I have given a figure when asked about how many we should be targeting between now and the end of the year. I have said we should set an ambitious figure and see how close we can get to it. It was in that context that I mentioned the figure of 1,000 homes.

See this speech in context