Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for dealing with the 96,000 families on the housing list and to substantially reduce the long waiting times for permanent, secure and affordable housing for those families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39035/12]

John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to deal with the 96,000 families on the housing list and to substantially reduce the long waiting times for permanent, secure and affordable housing for those families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39038/12]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 79 together.

I am determined to ensure that the social housing programme is framed in a manner which optimises the delivery of social housing and the return for the resources invested. To achieve this it is essential that we tailor the use of available Exchequer supports to prevailing conditions and explore the full range of solutions to address housing needs. The social housing capital budget has been reduced from €1.535 billion in 2008 to just over €333.7m this year, and the financial parameters within which we will be operating for the coming years rule out a return to large capital funded construction programmes. Nevertheless, the Government is committed to responding more quickly and on a larger scale to social housing support needs through a variety of mechanisms, including through increased provision of social housing. In spite of the challenging circumstances within which local authorities are forced to operate, a tentative projection of 4,000 to 4,500 housing units is anticipated for 2012.

Delivery of social housing will be significantly facilitated through more flexible funding models such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme and leasing, but the Government is also committed to developing other funding mechanisms that will increase the supply of permanent new social housing. Such mechanisms will include options to purchase, build to lease and the sourcing of loan finance by approved housing bodies for construction and acquisition. There is also obvious potential, across a range of housing programmes, for the Government’s objective of sourcing and providing suitable residential units for use as social housing to be aligned with the commercial objectives of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA). My Department and the Housing Agency are engaged with NAMA to ensure delivery of housing units for social purposes beginning in the current year.