Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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190. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the new builds and acquisitions to be completed and the new units to be provided by housing associations under the capital assistance scheme by local authority area in the second half of 2015 in tabular form. [44272/15]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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191. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the figures provided to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on 24 November 2015 projecting 950 local authority new builds and acquisitions and 440 new units under the capital assistance programme by the end of 2015 when compared with the latest on his Department’s website for the first six months of the year showing 246 local authority new-builds and acquisitions in the first half of 2015, including 20 new-builds and 226 acquisitions, and 157 new housing association units, mean that there will be 704 local authority new-builds and acquisitions in the second half of 2015, including in excess of’ 180 local authority new- builds, plus 283 new units provided by voluntary housing associations under the capital assistance scheme; and if not to provide alternative figures broken down under these headings. [44273/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 191 together.

The Social Housing Strategy 2020provides a comprehensive response to the need for social housing and targets the provision of over 110,000 social housing units to 2020, through the delivery of 35,000 new social housing units and meeting the housing needs of some 75,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment and Rental Accommodation Scheme.

The output target for 2015 is set at 15,900 across the current and capital-funded programmes. Within that, a target of just over 2,500 units is to delivered through the capital-funded programmes of building/acquiring new social housing units by local authorities, and new sheltered housing by approved housing bodies, and the returning of vacant properties to productive use. Current data shows that over 2,500 units have already been delivered through the capital programmes as follows:

Local authorities have advised me that they are advancing the purchase of some 750 new units this year, many of which will be finalised between now and the end of the year, which is traditionally the time of greatest funding drawdown by local authorities. Combined with the further numbers of vacant housing units that I expect will be returned by the end of this year, this should mean that the capital target set for 2015 will be further exceeded. All 31 local authorities are actively engaged in the delivery of these units in 2015, so the impact will be felt across all areas in terms of new social housing provision. However as some of these units may not be finalised until early 2016, the end-2015 final outcome cannot be predicted with certainty at this stage. Data on the full year breakdown across the different categories of delivery across all the local authorities will be compiled in early 2016.

We now have a strong pipeline of new social housing construction projects in place following from my announcement in May of the first major social housing build programme under the Social Housing Strategy, with a further substantial announcement in July of approvals for local authorities and approved housing bodies.  The outcome has been half a billion euro allocated for 2,900 social housing new builds and acquisitions to end 2017. I also propose to make further announcements in this regard in the New Year. Coupled with new housing acquisitions and tackling vacant units, this means that progress towards achievement of the overall capital targets for the period out to 2017 is well advanced.

Information on social housing units constructed and acquired in respect of all local authorities and approved housing bodies is published on my Department’s website at the following link:.