Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her question. Over the course of Rebuilding Ireland, the Government is committed to meeting the housing needs of more than 137,000 households. With funding of more than €6 billion in place, significant progress on implementation of the plan has already been made.

The most recent data available, which are published on my Department’s website, show that by end September of last year, more than 63,700 additional social housing solutions had been provided; 18,781 of these were delivered in the first nine months of 2018 alone, representing 74% of the target for the year as a whole. This included more than 4,500 build, acquisition and leased homes delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies. Regarding the voids programme, some 605 voids were funded by my Department in the first three quarters of last year. The issue of efficient tenanting of social housing is, of course, a matter for each local authority.

Data in regard to fourth quarter of 2018 are currently being compiled and will be published shortly. I am satisfied from the information currently available that it will show a strong performance versus our overall national target for the year.

The picture will vary from one local authority area to another in terms of what was achieved. Last January, I committed to publishing individual targets for housing delivery in each local authority area in 2018, to enable greater transparency and accountability when it comes to increasing the stock of social housing. The Government has committed more than €6 billion to Rebuilding Ireland and it is vital that taxpayer funding is used efficiently and transparently to deliver new homes.

Targets for 2018 were published and, in conjunction with delivery information for the fourth quarter of last year, I will shortly publish full-year delivery details by local authority, measured against the targets set at the beginning of the year. Following another housing summit later this month, this process will be repeated for 2019.

With the policy, resources and funding in place, it is up to local authorities to ensure delivery. I will continue to work with them to ensure the accelerated delivery of much needed homes for our citizens.

See this speech in context