Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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68. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the extent to which his Department is in dialogue with the various local authorities with a view to ensuring a precise number of housing scheme starts in the current and subsequent years in order to enhance the supply of housing at an early date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3251/22]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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This question seeks to encourage the dialogue between the Minister of State's office and the various local authorities with a view to maximising the latter's ability to deliver as anticipated under Housing for All.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The recently published Housing for All strategy is the Government's plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 units per year over the next decade, including an average of 10,000 social homes per annum from 2022 to 2030. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4 billion per annum through an overall combination of €12 billion in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5 billion in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5 billion in funding through the Housing Finance Agency over a five-year period.

Increasing the overall supply of housing is at the centre of the Housing for All plan. This includes direct investment in social and affordable housing, reforms to ensure availability of land, measures to support the viability of development and ensuring sufficient investment and capacity to support housing construction. There has been extensive engagement between our Department and local authorities on the preparation of Housing for All and its implementation. The Minister held two summits with local authority chief executives in 2021 in addition to bilateral engagements with most local authorities. He will be holding another summit with local authority chief executives in February that will focus on the implementation of the Housing for All measures.

A key action under Housing for All required each local authority to prepare a housing delivery action plan that set out details of social and affordable housing delivery over the next five years. All local authorities submitted their plans to the Minister in December and our Department is engaging with local authorities on them, in particular their alignment with the targets and policy objectives set out in Housing for All. The plans will be published in quarter 2. There will be ongoing engagement with our Department to support their implementation.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. To what extent will there be an increased demand for housing arising from economic recovery in the wake of Covid? Such housing may need to be delivered in a shorter space of time. Might it be possible to provide the necessary wherewithal to ensure that, in anticipation of the increased demand, the number of houses can be increased beyond what is already envisaged on an annual basis? If so, is the Minister of State able to tell local authorities at this stage that a quick and efficient turnaround is necessary? There needs to be a rapid acceleration of the administration of local authority housing loans and all the other processes relating to the provision of houses for people who are crying out for homes now and may be in a much more serious situation in two years' time.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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The increased activity in the construction sector has been significant, with the latest commencement notice data showing a total of 30,724 residential dwellings commenced in 2021, which was a 42% increase on 2020. The 2021 total was almost equal to the combined total of 2016 and 2017.

The Deputy is correct, in that there will be increased demand. With a full opening up of the economy and lifting of all Covid restrictions, there will be increased activity and demand, but there are also many constraints and pressures on our delivery, for example, water and waste water infrastructure, inflation and other elements.

Regarding institutional capacity within local authorities, the Minister has been proactive in addressing these issues by working with local authorities through the CCMA and various other structures to identify capacity constraints and the additional staffing resources that are required to deliver the social housing targets set out in Housing for All.

Added to that, the Minister approved more than 200 new posts for local authorities to help deliver on the ambition in Housing for All.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Further, and arising from the Minister of State's reply, to what extent does his Department continue to monitor the performance of each local authority to ensure that those areas most seriously affected by a shortage of housing receive an early and rapid response from the local authorities in order to address the issues to which the Minister of State referred and of which everybody is aware?

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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In specific response to that, the housing delivery plan is working in tandem with local authorities to ensure that the targets set for local authorities will be met county by county. I will give the specific example of my county, Kilkenny. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and I have visited a number of projects that have opened there in recent months. The local authority there is extremely proactive, will exceed the targets in its housing delivery plan and is very ambitious in trying to use infill development sites and sites within town centres. The local authority is very innovative in the design and the quality of the housing being delivered.