Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 25, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on housing met on 30 January. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 9 March. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All. The quarter 4 2022 progress report was discussed at the most recent meeting of the committee, and was subsequently approved by Cabinet and published on 7 February. This is the sixth quarterly report under Housing for All and details further progress in the Government's commitment to increase the number of homes for our citizens.

Just under 30,000 new homes were completed in 2022, not including student accommodation and derelict homes brought back into use. This exceeded the target of 24,600 set in Housing for All and represented the largest annual delivery of new homes in over a decade. The quarter 4 progress report outlines our progress in accelerating the supply of homes, while bringing about fundamental reform in the delivery of housing in our country. The Government is now focused on the 2023 target of 29,000 new homes, and we hope to exceed that.

Through Project Tosaigh and Croí Cónaithe, we are enhancing the financial viability of homes which already have planning consent. The quarter 4 report details initiatives which will accelerate the adoption of modern methods of construction, MMC, which has the potential to improve construction sector productivity, innovation, speed of delivery, sustainability and, ultimately, cost. Over 30 sites have been identified for accelerated delivery using MMC, involving over 1,500 new social homes.

We are also making progress on vacancy and dereliction. In 2022, over 2,300 vacant social homes were brought back into active use. On 30 January, the Government published a new vacant homes action plan which will return as many recoverable vacant properties back to viable use as soon as possible, while also revitalising communities.

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