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

The Deputy is absolutely right to raise the prospect of future shocks to the economy or what might happen to the construction of social housing units during a downturn. One of the things we have tried to do and have done successfully in Rebuilding Ireland is to ensure that, regardless of what happens to the economy in the future - for example, if there is a slowdown in growth or if something else happens - the State will always be providing public housing. We have the different streams of delivery so that if, for example, an approved housing body gets into difficulty and can no longer provide social housing homes, the slack can be taken up by another approved housing body, a local authority or by way of Part V. There will always be social housing homes being built regardless of what is happening in the wider economy. We did not have that with the crash, not just because our construction industry fell apart but also because at that time social housing output was almost exclusively outsourced to the private sector. When the private sector collapsed, with it came the collapse of social housing.

What we are doing differently now is seeking to make sure that regardless of what is happening, social housing is always being done. We have the provision of ring-fenced funding for the first time under Rebuilding Ireland, which had not happened before with the housing programme. This year, we will spend more money on housing in general than has ever been spent previously in the history of the State. With things like cost-rental, by actually getting those models up and working and financed by bodies like the European Investment Bank with super-low finance, we will be able to ensure that a much bigger section of housing that is being delivered to rent is being delivered for cost rental, not for the profit but actually to deliver sustainable housing solutions using public land. That is one of the things the Land Development Agency will be doing as well.

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