Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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455. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of social housing units provided in each of the years 2010 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2134/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Information on social housing units constructed and acquired in respect of all local authorities and approved housing bodies and funded by direct capital investment by my Department, is published on my Department’s website at the following link: . Data up to Quarter 3 of 2015 are currently available, including a breakdown across the different categories of delivery for all local authorities. Data for the full 2015 calendar year will be available in the first months of 2016.

In addition to social housing units constructed and acquired by local authorities, my Department in recent years has placed a particular focus on returning vacant and boarded-up units to productive use. Between 2014 and 2015, approximately 5,000 social housing units have been returned to use with direct exchequer support to local authorities.

In addition to delivery of social housing through the above methods, local authorities avail of a range of flexible delivery options to meet housing needs within their areas. Under the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP - previously referred to as the Social Housing Leasing Initiative) local authorities can enter into long term leases or rental arrangements for housing units and make them available for social housing. In addition, approved housing bodies can purchase, lease or construct housing units and make them available for social housing under the SHCEP. To the end of November 2015, over 6,700 housing units have been delivered under SHCEP since it began in 2009.

The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) has been an important contributor to social housing supply in the period since its introduction in 2005. Details of the number of households transferred from rent supplement to RAS in the period 2010 to end November 2015 are set out in the table below.

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is being rolled out incrementally to local authorities and is now available to all qualified households in 18 local authority areas with just over 6,300 households supported since the statutory pilot commenced in September 2014. Details of the number of tenancies supported by HAP since commencement are set out in the table below.

Number of households accommodatedunder RAS, SHCEP and HAP 2010 - 2015

* 2015 figures for RAS and SHCEP relate to output to end November 2015