James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for his question on departmental approvals for social and affordable housing. The Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost-rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. This is demonstrated by the record level of investment for the delivery of housing in 2025, with overall capital funding now available of almost €6.8 billion.

With regard to approvals, the Department continues to both receive and issue approvals and, indeed, make payments to AHBs and local authorities. Only this week, a number of applications for new-build social housing projects were approved and approval letters issued. Since the beginning of the year, the Department has released funding of over €1.1 billion for the social and affordable housing build programmes to local authorities and approved housing bodies, and payments continue to be issued.

It is important to note that developers and AHBs can begin their conversations with local authorities regarding projects significantly ahead of lodging a formal application to my Department. There will always be projects on hand with my Department, either under assessment or the subject of further engagement with local authorities or AHBs. This is perfectly normal.

The ongoing NDP review will determine capital budgets for the period 2026 to 2030. The outcome of this review will determine the available capital funding for social and affordable housing out to 2030, and this has been communicated to local authorities and approved housing bodies.

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