Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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5. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the number of houses that have been acquired and purchased by Galway City Council in each year from 2011 to date in 2016; the number of houses that have been constructed by the city council for each of those years; the number that are under construction; the number of houses that will be completed by the end of 2016 and by the end of 2017; the number that are planned for construction by the city council in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35507/16]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Galway city has 4,720 households on the waiting list, comprising 10,000 to 15,000 people, and that figure is rising. As I speak, 29 families with 79 children are homeless, 18 other families are at risk of becoming homeless and 20 people are sleeping rough. My question is very specific. What houses were built and what houses are going to be built?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The development of new social housing in Galway city is, in the first instance, a matter for the local authority. However, it is something the Department is taking very seriously, and the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has visited Galway three or four times in the past couple of months. The idea behind Rebuilding Ireland is to work with local authorities to drive change in this area.

Since 2011, 84 social housing units have been acquired by Galway City Council or approved housing bodies in its area. This includes two in 2011, 22 in 2012, 56 in 2015 and four up to the end of June 2016, with additional units expected by the end of 2016. In that period, 15 new social housing units were completed in an unfinished development at Cúirt Róisín and were taken over by Clúid earlier this year. Galway City Council has also secured 261 units through long-term leasing arrangements, including 50 new units under Tuath at Ballyburke through the NAMA special purpose vehicle, the National Asset Residential Property Services, NARPS.

A target of 518 social housing units over the period 2015 to 2017, supported by a funding allocation of €28.3 million, was notified by the Department to Galway City Council in April 2015 to be invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes. Following this, the construction of a total of 69 new social houses at Ballymoneen Road was approved, and I am advised that the first phase of 14 units is expected go on site next month for completion in 2017. I am also advised that phase 2 of this project, which will deliver 55 units, will start on site in 2017. A further 19 new units are also due on site in 2017 across three approved housing body projects, while in July last, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, announced the delivery of 73 new units at Ballyburke as part of the second bundle of the social housing public private partnership programme.

Funding has also been approved by my Department under the capital advance leasing facility for the acquisition by three approved housing bodies of 69 units in Galway city. Delivery is contingent on approved housing bodies securing the balance of funding required, but if successful, 39 units are expected to be delivered by the end of 2016, a further 27 in 2017 and three in early 2018.

In the context of the increased targets in Rebuilding Ireland, the Deputy can be assured that the Department will continue to work with Galway City Council to increase and accelerate social housing delivery in Galway city.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I do not think the Minister of State heard what I said. I asked him what the Government is going to do. The local authority produced plans every single year and no funding was made available. I share Deputy Boyd Barrett's frustration with this type of reply. I want to welcome any positive news.

I want to be crystal clear. Not one single social housing unit has been built in Galway since 2009. That is why we have between 10,000 and 15,000 people on a waiting list since 2002. The Minister of State spoke about approved bodies and different leasing schemes. The 14 he spoke about are still not built. That is simply because of lack of money, or that is what I am told. If I am wrong, the Minister of State can correct me.

I understand that the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government stopped the bigger scheme and instructed the council to get more units on site despite the fact that the latter had given approval.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I will do my best to answer the question Deputy Connolly tabled, which relates to the detailed figures.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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How many houses have been built?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I went through the figures. The Deputy asked what we are going to do and whether there is an issue with funding. It is not an issue of funding any more. We have made it clear to all local authorities that we are in a position to work with them on projects across all the initiatives. We will work to tailor the needs of each county. The Minister and I are trying to visit every local authority as quickly possible in order to meet their officials and elected representatives and make it clear that the funding is available under the different schemes and can be adapted to suit their needs. A few of the new schemes announced would suit Galway County Council very well in respect of the buy-and-repair initiative. It is working on proposals for that. The housing budget is €1.3 billion extra. It has increased by 50%. The year after next there will be a major increase. The funding is there and the capacity of people in the Department and every local authority can be employed in order to deliver this and spend the money. There will not be an excuse.

The Deputy is correct that the figures for the waiting list are not acceptable. We understand that and we are all determined to drive those figures down by providing solutions. We will do that across many initiatives.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for the positive news and for expressing his outrage that the list is too long. I appreciate that candour. My question was very specific. How many houses were constructed by the city council year on year and how many will be constructed? Can the Minister of State please tell me if it is correct to say that not one new house will be constructed by the end of this year by the city council and that it will be next year before we see any new local authority house built by the city council? That will be 14 units, the first building project since 2009. Are the Ministers meeting the councils regularly to increase that figure to deal with the housing crisis?

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The Department, the Minister and I are in touch with every local authority on a weekly, if not daily, basis at this stage. The idea behind having an action plan is to drive change. We recognise that the financial and human resources were not there in recent years in order to drive the kind of change that is needed. Galway City Council is in a position to increase its numbers. Its previous target was 518 units by 2017 across a range of schemes. It could choose which ones suited its needs. It is doing that and is well on target. We have told it in the past couple of weeks to acquire any houses it can before the end of this year. Every local authority has been given the same instruction: spend the money to acquire houses. It is not the easiest solution for Galway, although it did avail of it in recent years. However, there is pressure in Galway now in the context of housing There is a range of schemes available and the council has approached this very well in various ways. For the past couple of years, it was not just a case of building houses but also of acquiring or leasing them. The council is on target but that target will be increased, and rightly so, because there is increased funding available.