Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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5. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the current capital underspend on housing; the way that the underspend will be addressed in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46837/22]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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According to the August fiscal monitor, capital spending on housing is 31.7% lower than expected.

This means it is running 21% lower than this time last year, when we compare August 2022 to August 2021. How is this affecting the delivery of Housing for All targets and the delivery of social, affordable and cost rental homes? What is the Minister doing to address and tackle the current underspend on housing? What is that current underspend?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy knows, Housing for All is our plan to increase the supply of housing to get to an average of 33,000 homes per year over the next decade. Exchequer funding of more than €4 billion is available in 2022 to deliver the increased number of new social and affordable homes. Overall expenditure on the housing programme will not be determined, as the Deputy knows, until the end of the year. Typically, quarter 4 sees the highest level of capital expenditure as my Department recoups claims submitted by local authorities.

During 2022, there is no question but that the construction sector has been impacted by construction product inflation and some supply chain issues. This resulted in delays to a number of housing projects, which are back on track. There were consequential delays in the submission of claims from local authorities, especially post the outbreak of war in Ukraine where there were supply chain issues. However, there has been a strong improvement in the delivery environment, supported by measures introduced by this Government to address material inflation and energy costs through the introduction of the inflation supply chain delay co-operation framework that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, brought forward. We are now looking at very strong delivery in the last four months of this year, which will see an acceleration in the capital payments made by my Department.

Budget 2023, as the Deputy will have seen yesterday, again provides for record levels of investment by the Government to support housing delivery. Through Housing for All, since it is a multi-annual plan, local authorities know that funding is in the base and that they have that funding each year. There will also be more than €4 billion in Exchequer funding available for delivery of capital and current projects in 2023. I can tell the Deputy there were delays, particularly in March, April and May when there were supply chain issues. Most reasonable people will understand that is a reality of the world we are living in at present. There has a been very strong pick-up, however, and we expect strong completions in quarter 4. We are engaging on a regular basis, through my own teams, with the local authorities. My ministerial colleagues and I also engage directly with local authorities on that.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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The Dublin Housing Delivery Group issued a stark warning on housing delivery stating that the pipeline of land local authorities have for meeting their housing targets is running out. Memos given to the Cabinet sub-committee on housing confirm the targets set for the delivery of affordable and social homes will fall significantly short this year. Under last year's budget, more than 4,000 affordable purchase and cost rental homes were promised. So far this year, just 300 cost rental homes have been delivered and only 325 affordable purchase homes have been advertised. A €240 million underspend in 2022 is forecast under the housing section in the budget documents published yesterday.

The Minister was very clear at the end of last year. He said 2022 would be the year for delivery on housing and that the Government would meet its housing targets. Is the Minister confident the Government will meet its housing targets this year? Is he saying that the memos given to the Cabinet sub-committee on housing that state those targets will not be met are wrong?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Dublin Housing Delivery Group, which I established and includes the four Dublin local authorities working with the Land Development Agency, LDA, has done a very good piece of work in highlighting the issue of the need for additional lands, particularly post 2024. It is looking at mechanisms whereby local authorities can purchase such land. We hope that councillors in local authorities will support the social and affordable housing developments that are brought forward at local authority level because we have the funding to do that.

Last year, I said 2022 would be a very good year for delivery. Even with the problems we have had with regard to the supply chain and inflation, it will be a very good year for housing delivery on the social and affordable side. Let us also remember that no affordable housing had been delivered for more than ten years. We are delivering that this year. Cost rental is in place this year with tenants in place. More than 900 cost rental tenancies have been funded and many more will be in 2023. I cannot tell the Deputy exactly what the delivery amounts will be at the end of this year. Most reasonable people will understand that. I can tell the Deputy that we are on track to attaining the overall target of 24,600 for housing delivery this year, which is set in Housing for All, and are overachieving in that space.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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In the past year, new rents have increased by 9%, house prices have increased by 8%, homelessness by 30%, and child homelessness by 47%. Rents, house prices and homelessness have never been so high. Is the Minister confident that the capital underspend in housing will be tackled? Why did the Government publish in its budget forecast documents yesterday that there will be a capital underspend of €240 million in housing this year? Is the Minister saying that the memos given to the Cabinet sub-committee on housing stating the Government will not meet is housing targets are wrong?

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I am not saying anything about those memos at all. I am saying to the Deputy we have €4 billion to invest in social and affordable housing this year. We are working towards delivering social housing at scale - the highest number of new builds have been delivered this year than in any year since the foundation of the State - and affordable housing, also at scale, through our local authorities and the LDA's Project Tosaigh. I referenced Mallow earlier, where the first affordable homes have been delivered through Project Tosaigh, with people buying those homes this year. More than 1,800 affordable homes have been approved under the affordable housing fund. It is moving and momentum is building in that space. We will do everything to use and invest as much money as we can this year, recognising the fact, although some may not want to, that there were supply chain issues that caused delays on some of our sites, particularly around inflation, which we addressed through the inflation framework. That is the real world we are living in. Supply is increasing substantially and we expect very strong completions in quarter 4 of this year.