Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

21. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for replenishing actual housing stock, given the announcement of the new tenant purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44130/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The new incremental tenant purchase scheme for existing local authority houses will come into operation on 1 January 2016 and will provide opportunities for tenants to become homeowners, while also promoting sustainable communities and generating additional funding from sale proceeds for local authorities. Under Section 13 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, as amended, local authorities may, with my Department’s approval , use sales receipts and moneys received from tenant purchasers under the new scheme to invest in a range of social housing supports, including the provision of additional housing units and the refurbishment and maintenance of existing housing stock.

Specifically in terms of social housing supply, the Social Housing Strategy 2020 setsout 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. In total 110,000 new social housing units are targeted for delivery, with 35,000 new units to be delivered and 75,000 households to be supported mainly through the Housing Assistance Payment Programme.

The Strategy has been supported by two successive budgets with €1.7 billion allocated to housing with associated delivery targets of over 33,000 units. Given the pressing need to recommence a house building programme almost €3 billion in capital funding will be provided in support of the Social Housing Strategyunderthe Government’sCapital Plan - Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021 .

This commitment of on-going financial support has allowed me to allocate half a billion euro to local authorities and approved housing bodies for 2,900 new build and acquisition social housing units to be delivered by end 2017.

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.