Written answers

Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Local Authority Housing Provision

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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20. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he remains satisfied that the measures to alleviate the housing crisis are adequate in every respect, with particular reference to ensuring that progress is monitored in such a way as to make adequate provision for families already on the local authority housing lists, families likely to become homeless in view of rapidly increasing rents and families who may be affected by repossessions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9064/15]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Social housing is a key priority for the Government, evidenced by the additional €2.2 billion in funding announced for social housing in Budget 2015 and the publication of the Social Housing Strategy 2020in November 2014.

The total targeted provision of over 110,000 social housing units, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units, at a projected cost of €3.8 billion, and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme, will address the needs of the 90,000 households on the housing waiting list in full, with flexibility to meet potential future demand.

At this point, all local authorities have submitted delivery proposals for social housing across all delivery mechanisms for the years 2015 to 2017 and these are currently being examined in my Department.

Total housing provision for 2015 will result in an investment of almost €800 million across a range of housing programmes. I expect that some 7, 400 new social housing units will be provided in 2015, broken down as follows:

- 1,400 units to be built or acquired by local authorities and approved housing bodies;

- 3,000 units under the Social Housing Leasing Initiative;

- 1,000 vacant local authority units will be returned to use ; and,

- 2,000 new Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) units.

In addition, a further 8,400 households will be assisted through the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

In terms of preventing homelessness, the Government’s Homelessness Policy Statementmakes explicit the Government’s commitment to a housing-led approach to end long-term homelessness and the three key aspects of this approach: supply, prevention and support are outlined in the Statement. The Statement also includes a target to end involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016.

In order to increase the allocations of social housing to homeless households I recently issued a Ministerial Direction to each of the four Dublin local authorities and to each of the housing authorities in Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford, on prioritising homeless households and other vulnerable groups for housing in their respective areas.

The Tenancy Protection Service, provided by Threshold, is key to ensuring families at risk of homelessness can remain in their current accommodation. Over 340 families at imminent risk of homelessness were able to remain in their homes as a result of its intervention. The service has recently been extended to Cork.

I am committed to helping families remain in their homes and in an effort to increase the numbers delivered under the mortgage to rent scheme, a new protocol between all parties in the process was agreed and came into operation in June 2014.

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