Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Part of the problem is, precisely as the Minister says, an increasing reliance on leased properties instead of real social housing. The reason I use the phrase "real social housing" is because it was used in the unanimously endorsed report of the Committee on Housing and Homelessness. The Minister claims to be meeting the committee's recommendation when the figures very clearly show that this is not the case. My concern is the dramatic increase in the Department's long-term leasing targets from approximately 798 in 2017 to in the region of 2,000 this year. This is the detriment of the provision of real social houses, namely, units owned, built or bought by local authorities and approved housing bodies. This means that an over-reliance on the private rental sector, be it via leasing or involving the housing assistance payment or the rental accommodation scheme, will jump from 75% of total so-called social housing delivery last year to 78% this year. Every time we say that the Government is over-reliant on the private sector, the Minister says this is not true. However, this year, which is the first full year in which he will be Minister, the actual number of real social houses owned by local authorities or approved housing bodies will be fewer than last year. This is a significant fact, one for which the Minister is responsible and one he has yet to adequately explain.

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