Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, to which the Government is giving intense priority and in respect of which we have devised solutions for the short, medium and long term. In terms of social housing, we made an unprecedented commitment to the delivery of 47,000 new homes. These are to be constructed through various agencies. That is a massive commitment to social housing, which was neglected for more than a decade.

Short-term measures to address the housing situation include the extension of the HAP scheme to Dublin from March. Some 12,000 families were housed last year under that scheme. Under the homeless HAP initiative launched by the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, 550 families in Dublin were accommodated last year. That is a significant intervention. Last year, 1,000 homes were purchased to provide immediate accommodation. In addition, there is a commitment to provide 350 rapid-build homes in Dublin. In regard to the rental cap, the Minister will very soon indicate the areas of extension beyond the current locations of Dublin and Cork cities. We have seen very high increases as a result of supply constraints. The rental cap is a short-term measure to deal with that and will provide certainty for people by imposing a cap on rental increases.

On the wider front of housing supply, it is encouraging to see housing starts showing considerable growth at last, in Dublin and in other parts of the country. The numbers remain well short of where they need to be but the measures the Minister is taking to streamline the planning processes and make it easier to access finance and to build will assist in accelerating the housing supply. We all agree that increasing supply is the key solution, both in the private sector and the public sector. We allowed a situation to develop where public sector direct provision fell away to levels that were way below those of any other country while, at the same time, relying too heavily on the private rental sector to deal with social housing. The measures the Government has introduced will help to restore the balance in that regard. We have a balanced set of measures that are being rigorously driven forward and which include provision for quarterly reporting. The Minister is intensely aware of the huge number of families that are depending on the success of his strategy.

See this speech in context