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

The implementation of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland plan is well under way and significant progress is being made. In particular, the social housing construction programme has expanded significantly, comprising over 17,500 homes at the end of the third quarter of 2018, over 40% up on the position at the end of the third quarter of 2017. While final 2018 delivery data are not yet available, I am satisfied that further substantial progress was made on the social housing build programme last year.

I am determined to keep this momentum going across all areas of social housing delivery in 2019, including local authority builds, approved housing body builds and new homes secured through Part V delivery. Over 6,200 new-build social homes are targeted for delivery this year. The latter is 40% higher than the corresponding target for 2018. Specifically, local authorities will contract for the delivery of over 3,000 of these newly constructed social homes, while approximately 600 more are expected to be added to the stock of local authorities through Part V construction.

The Rebuilding Ireland land map shows that a significant quantum of land is available to local authorities to support social housing delivery, although the position in individual authority areas varies significantly. My Department engages closely with local authorities on opportunities to acquire additional lands. In addition, turnkey developments and delivery through Part V provide opportunities to secure new-build social housing in areas where local authority access to land is constrained. The work of the newly established Land Development Agency will also be important in harnessing public lands for housing development.

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