Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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6. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for local authority housing in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38323/15]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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What are the Minister's plans for local authority housing in the coming year? What is the number of homes proposed to be built? Do those figures not badly contradict the notion that this will be the largest social housing programme in the history of the State, instead indicating that this is the usual approach of pretending to do something about a real crisis while being a completely inadequate response?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Social Housing Strategy 2020 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 with flexibility to meet future demand. The strategy has been backed up by successive budgets, including this year, where social housing has been an absolute priority. Budget 2015 included a provision of almost €800 million to support a significant expansion in social housing provision, with more than 15,900 new units to be provided this year. Budget 2016 builds on the investment with an Exchequer provision of almost €811 million.  In addition, local authorities will fund a range of housing services from their own resources to the value of over €112 million, bringing the total housing provision in 2016 to €923 million. The €4 billion strategy has been discussed numerous times in the House with regard to the targets in delivering 35,000 units through buying, building and leasing, with the balance of 75,000 to be delivered through the housing assistance payment, HAP, and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS.

The priority which this Government has shown to providing significant increases in the financial resources for social housing provides clear evidence of our commitment to make very substantial progress in addressing our social housing challenge. So far this year, this has allowed me to announce approximately €500 million in capital funding for local authority and approved housing body projects and I expect to make further announcements in the coming days and weeks. These projects will contribute to delivery in 2016 and when taken together with the broader range of housing programmes, I expect that over 17,000 housing units will be provided next year. In addition, preparatory work will continue in 2016 on further new innovative projects, such as advancing the provision of 500 new social housing units through a public-private partnership programme and an affordable housing pilot scheme. There are in excess of 200 sites at this time currently seeing construction for social housing projects.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Will the Minister go through those "over 17,000" houses and explain to people what they are? These are not over 17,000 local authority homes; 10,000 of them are transfers to housing assistance payment, meaning it is a simple transfer from the rent allowance scheme to HAP, with people remaining with private landlords. There are 3,000 units leased from developers and landlords, with 1,000 being transfers to RAS. From the 17,100, only 1,500 are new local authority units, approved housing body units or acquisitions. That is less than 9%, which is completely inadequate and a fraction of what would have been built in the course of the 1980s on a yearly basis, where there would have been 7,000 or 8,000 homes built. We have 130,000 families on the housing waiting list; it is a massive housing crisis. Why is there still a reliance on the private market to resolve this problem, dressing it up and pretending there is local authority investment instead of State investment to build homes?

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I find the Deputy's analysis perplexing, to be honest. Given our position, it is impossible to wave a magic wand and have houses built just like that. It is impossible.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Jimmy Tully did it.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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We are also building houses as quickly as we can. That is why over 200 sites are now seeing construction. The Deputy will be glad to know I will announce more in the coming days and weeks.

We must have a mixture of ways to help people find housing and these include construction and acquisition. In certain parts of the country, it clearly makes more sense to acquire vacant or empty houses. We also have one of the largest programmes to deal with voids ever seen, as there were well in excess of 2,000 voids last year. The Deputy is aware that I have told all Dublin city local authorities, including managers and councillor delegations, some of whom the Deputy probably knows, that if they can use as many voids as possible in the city, I will provide funding for that.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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I am not asking the Minister for a magic want but rather a political commitment and a decision to build homes. We do not have that. This year, the number of homes due to be built or acquired was 1,400 and next year, it is 1,500. That is our great response to this housing crisis that has put politicians under so much pressure. That is a question of supply but because of an absence of units, with people forced into the private rental market, people trapped and forced into homelessness because of massive spiralling rents.

A magic wand is not required but a political decision is required to implement rent controls. The Minister has been blocked and even his minimal version of rent control has been stopped by Fine Gael. The Labour Party is simply going to accept that the landlord and developer profits and NAMA's rehabilitation of developers will take precedence over the right of people to have homes.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I am still perplexed.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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Read the figures.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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It is not a case of reading the figures as I am aware of them. They are public anyway and we put targets on our website for every local authority in the State. We have to adopt the current measures, involving HAP, RAS, etc., in order to help people who the Deputy purports to support, and in fairness, I do as well. There is a lag involved with construction and we must have measures in order to deal with that. These are the collective measures.

There cannot be a one size fits all approach for all local authorities. I know the Deputy is Dublin-centric but in other parts of the country, it makes more sense to act in a different way because of the behaviour of previous administrations, particularly with regard to the privatisation of social housing. There are some cases of excess stock.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Dublin people are in homeless accommodation. They are in emergency accommodation and the Minister is responsible.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Broughan should stay quiet as others have questions to ask.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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I do not like people being called Dublin-centric. What kind of nonsense is that?

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Broughan should calm down. He is talking nonsense.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Perhaps we need a Dublin Minister.

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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A Dublin Minister.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputy Broughan to have the manners-----

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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We should have a Dublin Minister.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Broughan, will you please have the manners to listen to other Deputies and let them put their questions? I have called Deputy Robert Troy.