Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)
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664. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if legislation is being proposed to introduce a two-year rent freeze in the private rental market to prevent additional families being forced into homelessness. [36512/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The most recent data from the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) for Q2 2015 show that on an annual basis, nationally, rents were 7.1% higher than in Q2 2014. Rents for houses were 6.4% higher, while apartment rents were 7.6% higher than in the same quarter of 2014.

These annual rates of increase were driven mainly by the Dublin market. Overall, in the 12 months to the end of Q2 2015, rents were higher by 9.2% in Dublin (with house rents up by 8.8% and apartment rents higher by 9.4%). Annual growth in rents for the market outside Dublin was more subdued. In the 12 months to the end of Q2 2015, rents were higher by 5.8% (with house rents up by 5.8% and apartment rents higher by 5.9%).

A shortage of supply is at the heart of rising rents and the Government is addressing this on a number of fronts. Construction 2020: A Strategy for a Renewed Construction Sector, published last year, is aimed at addressing issues in the property and construction sectors and ensuring that any bottlenecks that might impede the sector in meeting residential and non-residential demand are addressed. Construction 2020 also commits to identifying and implementing further improvements to the planning system to facilitate appropriate development.

Addressing the supply shortfall in housing will take time but in the period since the publication of Construction 2020, some welcome signs of recovery in the sector have become evident. Particularly notable in this regard is the increase in the number of house completions in 2014 to 11,016 units nationally – an increase of 33% on the 2013 figure. The latest figures for new house completions show that 8,914 units were completed to the end of September 2015, up 14% on the corresponding figure for 2014.

Social housing is a key priority for the Government, as evidenced by the €2.9 billion committed to under the Government’s Capital Plan. In Budget 2016 investment in housing infrastructure has again been given priority with exchequer investment of almost €811 million across a range of housing programmes. In addition, local authorities will also fund a range of housing services from their own resources to the value of over €112 million, bringing the total Housing provision in 2016 to €923 million. This will significantly address the needs of households on the housing waiting lists and provide flexibility to meet potential future demand with over 17,000 households to be accommodated in 2016.

On Budget day Minister Kelly and I also announced the approval of site locations for over 500 new social housing units which are to be delivered through a public private partnership (PPP) programme. This social housing is to be developed at six sites in co-operation with the local authorities in each area, with a capital value of approximately €100 million. There is provision for a total investment of €300 million in social housing through the public private partnership model and, overall, the programme is expected to deliver 1,500 social housing units.

NAMA is aiming to deliver a target of 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020 with 90 per cent of these units to be in the greater Dublin area. Achieving this new target by the end of 2020 means delivering on average 80 new housing units every week, across some 100 active sites. An Affordable Rental Pilot Scheme, which was announced as part of Budget 2016, is currently being developed in my Department.  The sum of €10 million has been made available from the proceeds of the sale of Bord Gáis Éireann for the scheme, which I expect to be rolled out in 2016.

In addition to these measures, I am continuing to work on proposals to address the issue of rising rents. The regulation of rent raises many complex economic and legal issues and I have to be satisfied that any measures proposed are balanced and have the desired effect on the rental market while being fair to landlords and tenants alike. Ultimately, any decision in relation to this issue is a matter for Government and it is my intention to bring final proposals to Government for decision as soon as possible.