Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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8. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of new social homes that are targeted to be built by the local authorities in 2015 and 2016 arising from the Government's housing strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3650/15]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government how many social homes will be built by local authorities in 2015 and 2016 arising from the Government's housing strategy. The information that I have received indicates that it will be nowhere near the numbers outlined in the strategy. Will the Minister provide a breakdown by local authority of the number of homes anticipated in the next two years?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Social housing is a key priority for the Government, as is evident in the additional €2.2 billion in funding announced for social housing in budget 2015 and the publication of the Social Housing Strategy 2020 in November 2014. The strategy builds on the provisions contained in budget 2015 and sets out clear, measurable actions and targets to increase the supply of social housing, reform delivery arrangements and meet the housing needs of all households on the housing list. Importantly, the strategy restores the State to a central role in the provision of social housing.

The total targeted provision of more than 110,000 social housing units through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the housing assistance payment and rental accommodation scheme will address the needs of the 90,000 households on the housing waiting list in full, with flexibility to meet future demand. In committing to provide these 35,000 new social housing units at a projected cost of €3.8 billion, the strategy marks a fresh start for social housing in Ireland.

Over the six years of the strategy, I anticipate that the 35,000 units will be delivered as follows: 22,300 units to be built or acquired utilising both current and capital moneys, 11,000 units to be leased, and 2,300 units to be supplied through refurbishing and bringing back to use vacant local authority stock, which I confess is a bugbear for me. Under the relevant actions of the social housing strategy, national targets for delivery of social housing on a local authority basis are to be agreed for each year. This work is already under way with local authorities in so far as 2015 is concerned and I expect it to be finalised next month. In 2015, I expect that 7,400 new social housing units will be provided, as follows: 1,400 units to be built or acquired by local authorities and approved housing bodies, 3,000 units under the social housing leasing initiative, 1,000 vacant local authority units returned to use, and 2,000 new rental accommodation scheme units. In addition, a further 8,400 households will be assisted through the housing assistance payment.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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If the Minister could provide a breakdown by local authority, that would be even more helpful. Let me get this straight: he anticipates 22,300 housing in the housing strategy but indicates that 1,400 houses will be built next year. That is far below the target he outlined previously. We should not fool people out there who are desperate. The 2,000 units to be leased from private landlords are existing rather than new houses. As I do not think these houses will be found, will the Minister explain where he anticipates finding them given that we know landlords are not interested. Approximately 1,000 vacant units will also come from existing housing stock. The rental accommodation scheme will be continued even though landlords have no interest in this scheme, and 8,400 households will transfer to the housing assistance payment scheme.

The Minister made great fanfare but his Government is spending less money on social housing than Fianna Fáil and the Green Party spent in 2010. He claimed that the Government is massively increasing expenditure in this area but it is spending less than that shower spent before the crisis began. He referred to expenditure of €700 million but the previous Government spent more than €800 million. People in the midst of a crisis of homelessness think the Government is increasing expenditure but actually it is doing less than previous Governments.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I am slightly bemused by the Deputy's comment. People across the Houses can criticise the social housing strategy if they so wish, but, by and large, the principles around it have been accepted as in terms of our going in the right direction. Considering the Deputy's philosophical background, I found her contribution quite strange.

The figures I have are those I have consistently given. They have been the same all the time. They show that there will be a huge push in 2015 towards meeting the needs of the volume of people concerned. The Deputy is not comparing apples with apples or oranges with oranges as regards previous spends. We are getting into the process of rebuilding social houses, council houses, the building of which should not have been stopped in the first place. There was a period of intense need to ramp that up. I am in the process of increasing the volume of local authority staff around the country in order to do that, which is necessary, and we are planning that in advance. The Deputy will be aware of the figures I gave for 2015 in terms of 7,400 units broken down in the way I outlined. As regards the breakdown of units by local authority, I would be happy to share those with the House post-announcement-----

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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When?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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-----which will be next month, as I stated in my initial reply to the question. I have a meeting today on that matter after this business. We will be in a position next month to outline to the House where this funding will go. I am conscious of the pressure areas across the country, which we have heat-mapped. There are areas all over the country that have housing demand but we must deal primarily with the acute areas.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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I have the figures here. It is outlined in the Social Housing Strategy 2020 that the Government will invest €2.2 billion from 2015 to 2017, inclusive. That works out at a capital investment in social housing averaging €733 million a year. In 2010, the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government invested €980.6 million on social affordable housing. Therefore, this Government is spending less than it did, contrary to what the Minister, Deputy Burton, came in here and said. There is nothing to meet the emergency that exists in this area.

I have two final questions. When jobs are being created or houses are being built, usually politicians are only too keen to promote it. Why has it taken so long for the Minister's Department to give Deputies an outline of exactly where these houses will be built? Could the Minister also clarify for council tenants and for people in private rented accommodation when he will bring forward the legislation relating to water charges?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I took this job primarily to deal with the issue of housing because it is something that is quite close to my heart and is one of the largest issues facing this country both from the public and from the private perspective. The work that is going on between my Department, a number of agencies and the local authorities is nearing conclusion. It has taken a period of time. The Deputy must remember that I only announced the social housing strategy and the allocation of €3.8 million in December.

I am hopeful that in a few weeks time we will have broken down the allocations across the country. All Deputies across all sides of the House will be made aware of the allocations and, dare I say it, there are some very good projects out there. I have made it my personal business to visit as many local authorities as possible or else have met their representatives here. I have met representatives of the local authorities here on numerous occasions to prioritise the provision of housing. When I took this job, the first thing I did was address local authority managers to tell them that this is my priority, that I would get the funding and for us to ensure that there would not be a big lag time in being able to get sites moving as regards developing houses and working with the approved housing bodies and other organisations. I can assure the Deputy that in the next month or so we will have an outline across local authorities and in particular we will take account of where the demand is most acute.