Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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94. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has estimated the impact that the building of enough local authority homes to clear the waiting list would have on house prices and rents in the private market. [32428/14]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Over the last 18 months or so the private housing market in Ireland has been characterised by price and rent increases. These have been most pronounced in urban areas, particularly Dublin. This is most likely driven by a supply-demand mismatch in these urban areas. The current level of new builds is very low by reference to historical norms as well as estimates of medium-term housing demand. 

In order to address the current inadequacies in the market, the recently published Construction 2020 strategy sets out a range of actions to be taken in the immediate future which aim to address, among other issues: housing supply, with a particular focus on planning issues and appropriate and sustainable development financing; transparent and sustainable mortgage lending; as well as the application of the tax code to the construction and property sectors.

Action 1 of the Strategy provides a National Framework for Housing Supply is to be established on a statutory footing with an annual National Statement of Projected Housing Supply and Demand to be published every June. The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) has advised me that the Housing Agency has been asked to take the lead in implementing this Action.

The proper management of all State land is critical; accordingly, both lands that have been transferred to the Housing Agency and lands held by local authorities which are suitable for development will be the first sites considered in any future targeted social housing building programme. DECLG's annual Housing Land Availability Survey (HLAS) gathers information from local authorities to inform the publication of the amount of zoned residential land in their areas that is currently serviced. It is currently estimated that there are in excess of 25,000 hectares of undeveloped residentially-zoned land nationally, which equates to a capacity for over 500,000 new homes (based on a national average of 20 units per hectare). This capacity is considered to be sufficient to meet total housing requirements nationally for more than the next ten years. In line with the commitments under the Construction 2020 strategy, a Housing Supply Co-ordination Task Force for Dublin has been established with an immediate focus on addressing supply-related issues in the capital.

Under Action 8 of Construction 2020, a Social Housing Strategy is to be published by the end of the third quarter of 2014. To assist in the development of the Social Housing Strategy, the Housing Agency has invited submissions by 31 July 2014. This invitation for submissions is available at the following weblink: .

Regarding the recent rise in rents, the Private Residential Tenancies Board has been asked to carry out a focused piece of research that will explore options to address the difficulties being experienced in segments of the private rented sector and to report back to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government with policy recommendations in the coming weeks. With regard to broader social housing policy, the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 will provide for the introduction of the new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme.  HAP will provide a new framework for the provision of rental assistance and will, in as much as it can, facilitate the removal of existing barriers to employment by allowing HAP recipients remain in the scheme if they gain full-time employment.  It is expected that the Bill will be enacted by the summer, following which the commencement date and the detailed terms of the scheme will be prescribed. 

DECLG expects the final output across all social housing programmes for 2014 to be in the region of 6,000 new housing units. The number and method of delivery of social housing units in future years is determined in the course of the annual Estimates process and will be informed by the Social Housing Strategy which is currently in preparation and which will set out clear objectives in respect of delivery over the next five years.