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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on housing last met on Monday, 27 November. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 18 December. This committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and programme for Government commitments regarding housing and related matters.

Housing for All is now in its third year of implementation. Earlier this month, the Government published the second annual update alongside the quarter 3 progress report. This sets out our priority actions for the coming year. Despite considerable challenges in the external environment, we are making real progress with new homes and apartments being built all over the country. While new housing construction is slowing down in much of the western world, it is speeding up here. In the past 12 months, over 30,000 new homes have been built. We have exceeded the Housing for All output target for 2022 and now expect to exceed it again for 2023. The pipeline for delivery is very positive, with over 26,000 new homes started in the first ten months of 2023 and planning permission granted for over 20,000 new homes in the first half of this year alone.

We have seen large numbers of first-time buyers buying their first homes. In the 12 months to September, first-time mortgage approvals exceeded 30,000, well over 500 per week. In many cases, these were helped by the first home and help-to-buy schemes, which the Opposition wants to abolish. On State lands, building is under way on sites in Cork and Dublin which, between them, will provide over 850 homes and the Land Development Agency, LDA, now has planning permission for over 2,500 additional homes. This is on top of the 1,000 affordable homes due under Project Tosaigh.

We are also committed to improving the rental market by providing greater security, affordability and viability to tenants and landlords into the future. To date, over 300,000 renters have claimed the rent tax credit, which will be increased to €750 per renter in 2024. We have also introduced changes to the tax treatment of landlords to encourage them to stay in the rental market and not to sell up.

The Government has responded to issues of financial viability in home building. The Croí Cónaithe cities scheme is assisting the building of apartments and the new secure tenancy affordable rental, STAR, scheme will help to build over 4,000 cost-rental homes. We have also taken further action to bring additional vacant and derelict properties back into use, having doubled the target for the vacant property refurbishment grant. The local authority home loan will be extended to people looking to buy and renovate derelict homes. Housing for All is a coherent plan designed to accelerate home building in a sustainable way.

The new Planning and Development Bill, once enacted, will bring greater clarity, consistency and efficiency to how planning decisions are made. Importantly, the system will be more coherent and user-friendly, allowing for greater understanding on the part of both the public and planning practitioners alike. In addition, we will continue to enhance the capacity of the construction sector, launch campaigns to attract more people from Ireland and abroad to work in construction, promote the use of innovation in both public and private delivery and promote greater productivity in the house building sector. We are building more homes and will continue to maintain this strong momentum into 2024 and beyond.

See this speech in context