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

This is territory in which I am personally very interested. It is going to be some time before people see the full benefits of Rebuilding Ireland but we have dramatically increased funding for social housing and there is a multi-annual commitment of almost €6 billion to add 50,000 new social housing units to the national stock, which would be a 30% increase over four or five years. That takes time and it is not just measured in new builds. Next year, we will see 3,800 new build houses and 600 private sector-built social house units purchased under Part V, 600 voids returned into use, 900 acquisitions of existing homes and 2,000 long-term leases. It is a combination of a series of different approaches that are realisable. Going from building 200 or 300 social houses to building 7,000 or 8,000 in the space of one year is not doable.

While we build up capacity to dramatically increase the number of social housing units that are being delivered through local authorities, approved housing bodies, AHBs, and the private sector under Part V, there is a significant reliance on supporting people in the rental market. This year we will see about 21,000 social housing solutions put in place, many under the housing assistance payment, HAP, which is an improvement on previous support programmes for the rental sector. We know this puts pressure on the rental sector, which is why there is a need for rent caps at present, which we introduced last year. Some 65% of rental properties are in rent pressure zones and the tenants in those properties cannot be asked for an increase of more than 4%, despite the pressures of the market.

We have very significant pressures in the housing market, both in rental properties and those for purchase, because of a dramatic lack of supply, supply which has not been delivered for nearly a decade. Over time, we will solve that by increasing supply in the private sector, the affordable sector and social housing and by ensuring we bring a lot of vacant properties and sites back into use by using methods with which I am sure the Deputy is familiar. People cannot expect this problem to be solved overnight and we have to ensure that while the new strategy and the significant funding behind it builds a capacity in the construction sector to significantly increase delivery of housing, we try, in the meantime, to manage a rental sector that is under significant pressure .

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