Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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579. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the impediment to local authorities borrowing for social housing construction still exists; if so, the rationale for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40552/15]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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580. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the impediments to local authorities borrowing for social housing construction. [40553/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 579 and 580 together.

My Department monitors the impact of Non-Mortgage borrowing by local authorities on the General Government Balance (GGB) on an on-going basis. While there is a requirement for the overall borrowing of the local government sector to remain within the GGB parameters, should there be a requirement to borrow for social housing purposes, my Department will consider any sanction request in the context of supporting priority infrastructural investment, meeting contractual commitments and ensuring appropriate projects can proceed.

However, given funding made available through successive budgets in the context of the Government’s Social Housing Strategy 2020, there is sufficient capital funding being made available to local authorities. The €4 billion Strategy sets out a multi-annual investment programme to prioritise the provision of social housing by local authorities and other key delivery agents such as approved housing bodies. It contains clear, measurable actions and targets to increase the supply of social housing, reform delivery arrangements and meet the housing needs of all households on the housing list with flexibility to meet future demand.

The Strategy has been backed up by successive budgets, including this year, where social housing has been an absolute priority, and it targets the delivery of 35,000 units through buying, building and leasing, with the balance of 75,000 to be delivered through the Housing Assistance Payment and the Rental Accommodation Scheme. Budget 2015 included a provision of almost €800 million to support a significant expansion in social housing provision, with some 15,900 new units to be provided this year. Budget 2016 builds on this investment with an exchequer provision of almost €811 million. In addition, local authorities will fund a range of housing services in 2016 from their own resources, to the value of over €112 million, bringing the total housing provision in 2016 to €923 million. Overall, the Government’s Capital Plan commits €2.9 billion in capital funding towards social housing out to 2021.

The priority which this Government has shown to providing significant increases in the financial resources for social housing provides clear evidence of our commitment to make very substantial progress in addressing our social housing challenge. So far this year, I have announced almost half a billion euros in capital funding for new projects being implemented by local authorities and approved housing bodies and I expect to make further announcements in the near future. In addition, preparatory work will continue in 2016 on further new innovative projects, such as advancing the provision of 500 new social housing units through a PPP programme and an affordable housing pilot scheme. As we progress through the 6-year timeframe of the Strategy, we will move to greater use of ‘Off Balance Sheet Delivery Mechanisms’.