Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members of the House for their input to this afternoon's statements. I welcome the opportunity to add to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien's, opening statement and to highlight some of the key achievements. There is no silver bullet when addressing something as complex as the housing crisis. Through the Housing for All plan, we are confronting these challenges head on and we have made considerable progress since the publication of the plan back in September 2021.

In 2022, the first full year of delivery under the Housing for All plan, we delivered close to 30,000 new homes, 5,000 more than the target. In 2023, we delivered close to 33,000 new builds, 3,700 homes over target. This delivery represents the most new homes delivered in more than 15 years, and a further 5,841 new homes were delivered in the first quarter of 2024.

The year 2023 also saw the highest annual output of social homes in decades. Nearly 12,000 social homes were delivered, which represents a significant increase of over 16% on the 2022 delivery of 10,263. It is the highest delivery of new build social homes in half a century, which represents significant progress.

During the lifetime of this Government, we have provided 5,800 affordable housing options. In excess of 4,000 affordable solutions were delivered in 2023, which is more than double the number of the previous year. It is important to note that the 2022 delivery from a standing point provides the first affordable homes in a generation. More than 1,600 cost-rental homes have already been delivered under the Housing for All plan and there are a further 1,400 cost-rental homes in the pipeline, including more than 300 cost-rental homes at Oscar Traynor Road in Dublin and 264 affordable and social homes at Saint Kevin's Hospital in Cork.

Furthermore, in April 2023, my Department introduced the secure tenancy affordable rental scheme which will see the delivery of more than 4,000 cost-rental homes by 2027. A total of 642 homes under this scheme have already been approved, and we need to recognise that this tenure did not exist in Ireland before Housing for All made delivery of cost-rental homes in this country a reality.

To help close the viability gap and to reduce construction costs, we have introduced a range of supports and schemes. These include the recent extension of the development levy and the water connection fee waiver. The effectiveness of this waiver is very evident with in excess of 18,000 new homes commenced in April alone. This builds on almost 12,000 homes commenced in quarter 1 of 2024.

Recent data also shows that planning permissions were granted for more than 11,000 new homes in quarter 4 of 2023, which is a 47% increase on quarter 4 of 2022 and is 16% higher than quarter 3 of 2023. These indicators show that the increase in new home delivery seen under this Government can be sustained.

I reiterate the importance of the Planning and Development Bill. This Bill, when passed, will align the national, regional and local tiers of planning, encouraging public debate and participation at the plan-making stage. The introduction of statutory timelines for decision-making, including for the newly renamed an coimisiún pleanála, will bring certainty for the public and stakeholders involved in the delivery of housing.

The suite of initiatives under Housing for All are helping more first-time buyers achieve their dream of owning a home, which is evident by the record 30,450 first-time buyers who have had mortgages approved last year. The first home scheme and help to buy scheme, in particular, have proven to be key in bridging the affordability gap for first-time buyers, and they continue to support first-time buyers and other eligible buyers in purchasing new homes. The delivery figures for the first quarter of 2024 show that more than 4,000 approvals have been issued since the first home scheme was launched in 2022 with 75% of all approvals issued in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. The Government has recently approved an additional €40 million State commitment to this scheme.

Vacancy and dereliction are also being tackled in a way that will not only help people to make homes more affordable but will also bring new life and vibrancy back into towns and villages throughout the country. Under the vacancy property refurbishment grant, in excess of 7,900 applications have been made, with more than 4,800 already approved and we expect to meet our target by 2025.

To further accelerate and increase the supply of homes and to deliver on our ambition, the Government is supporting increased capacity, innovation, and productivity in the construction sector. We know that to meet the rising level of demand, the construction sector itself needs to expand its capacity. We are taking actions to increase skills supply through the current network of skills provision across the third-level system to tackle both climate and housing issues. Under Housing for All, we have introduced the build to innovate initiative which is aimed at increasing productivity and innovation. It is supporting Irish companies to achieve within the residential construction sector and to enhance the operational performance of their business, including through increased usage of modern methods of construction. Thirty companies have already supported the grant aid packages, with in excess of 20,000 homes being delivered over the next three years. Under the plan, the annual intake in construction and construction-related apprenticeships has steadily increased. In 2023, the apprentice population surpassed 20,000 individuals. That is a 53% increase on the pre-Covid-19 figure in 2019. Currently, 30 of the 73 national apprenticeships are construction or construction-related.

Housing for All has championed the widespread adoption of modern methods of construction, including the publication of the roadmap for increased adaptation of MMC in public housing delivery. We all know MMC has the potential to be transformative in improving the speed of housing delivery, in sustainability and, ultimately, in lowering cost. We are leading by example in harnessing these advanced construction methods in the delivery of housing. We are progressing the use of MMC through a number of accelerated developments with the potential to develop more than 1,500 social homes across 33 sites in 13 local authorities. We are determined to foster innovation wherever possible and to equip the industry with the expertise required for transformative change.

While significant progress has been made in the delivery of housing, we are also aware of the challenges that remain. There is no shortage of will or determination to deal with the issue and we are resolute in our ambition to eradicate homelessness in Ireland. Resources and funding are not an obstacle to the urgent efforts required. Budget 2024 provides an additional €242 million for homelessness services, and this funding will support individuals experiencing homelessness with emergency accommodation and the supports they need to exit homelessness to a secure home.

We are working with all local authorities to reduce the numbers in emergency accommodation, ensuring all local authorities allocate increased numbers of social homes to households in emergency accommodation. As the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, mentioned earlier, he received the Housing Commission's report just under two weeks ago. It was discussed at Cabinet this morning and he will publish it very shortly. This report will inform the ongoing review of the Housing for All plan. I know this report is of great interest to Members, in particular the commission's conclusions on housing demands and targets. The review of the housing targets, which were planned to consider the findings of census 2022, is well advanced. The evidence base underpinning this work must be robust and transparent and will be informed by independent peer-reviewed research which has been carried out by the ESRI.

It is clear the new targets will likely be considerably higher than the current targets. It is also clear that to achieve these targets, we must continue to build on the momentum created by the Housing for All plan as it continues to go from strength to strength.

I conclude by reiterating that increased supply is a key solution to ending the housing crisis once and for all. Planning permissions, commencements and completions continue to rise. Supply is increasing and our pipeline is growing. The plan is working and through its continued implementation we will fix the housing problem and ensure there is housing for all.

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