Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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525. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government how many of the current-funded social housing units were transferred from the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme and the National Asset Management Agency to local authorities and private developers. [4236/16]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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526. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the targets for current-funded social housing units in 2016 will be met, given that many of the units provided under the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme have come from the National Asset Management Agency, whose suitable social housing stock has mostly been transferred to local authorities for use as social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4237/16]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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554. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of social housing units provided including those funded under the rental accommodation scheme, the sustainable Cultural Heritage through Engagement of Local Communities Project, the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme capital funded units, units transferred from the National Asset Management Agency, units brought back to productive use under his Refurbishment Programme and other capital assistance schemes in 2015, by local authority. [4461/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 525, 526 and 554 together.

The report Social Housing Output in 2015contains details on the progress made under each of the social housing programmes last year and is available on my Department’s website at:

.

Section 4 of the Report deals with Capital Programmes and outlines that 4,188 units were delivered in 2015. Details of unit delivery across the capital funded programmes broken down by local authority are contained in Table 1 below.

I assume that the Questions are referring to the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) rather than the Social Inclusion Community Activation Programme (SICAP) or the Sustainable Cultural Heritage through Engagement of Local Communities project, neither of which are related to the provision of social housing.

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 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. While the total number of new units delivered and operational using all of the mechanisms available under SHCEP in 2015 is yet to be finalised, I estimate that the final figure will be in the region of 1,450 units.

At end November 2015, an additional 2,280 units had received full funding approval under SHCEP and an additional 93 were at approval stage. While the focus of the SHCEP in recent years has been on the acquisition and long term leasing of existing housing units, my Department is providing an increasing number of approvals for assistance under SHCEP to approved housing bodies for the construction of new units for social housing use. At end of November 2015 , my Department had provided approval for the construction of 589 new units by approved housing bodies under the Scheme.

In 2011, a process was established to identify units that could be used for social housing purposes from properties that are part of the security for loans that NAMA has acquired. NAMA sourced units are brought into social housing through existing delivery mechanisms, including SHCEP, and to date more than 2,000 units have been secured for social housing in this way. A special purpose vehicle established by NAMA, the National Asset Residential Property Services Ltd. (NARPS), acquires properties from developers or receivers in NAMA’s portfolio and makes them available to local authorities and approved housing bodies by way of a long term lease. My Department, through SHCEP, recoups to local authorities the cost of these units. By end November 2015, 800 units in total had become operational using this mechanism; 389 of which became operational in 2015. The remaining units are due to become operational in 2016/17 and will contribute to the achievement of the 2016-2017 targets for SHCEP under the Social Housing Strategy.

A detailed breakdown of NAMA – related delivery is contained in the Social Housing Output in 2015report.

Table 1 - Breakdown by Local Authority of delivery under Capital Programmes in 2015

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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527. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if officials of his Department or if an authority under its aegis, have expressed concerns to him that reliance on current-funded units rather than capital-funded units to meet the 2015 to 2017 targets for social housing output will restrict the supply of housing at the lower end of the private rental market; if he has undertaken or commissioned research on this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4238/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The Social Housing Strategy2020provides a roadmap to 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 Scheme.

The use of a flexible mix of housing provision programmes under the Strategy, including the Rental Accommodation Scheme, the Housing Assistance Payment and the Social Housing Current Expenditure Programme, provides for a more diverse delivery of homes and provides greater choice for households who require support to meet their housing requirements.

The detailed governance arrangements outlined in the Strategy include a high-level Oversight Group to oversee implementation, which I chair, a Project Board and five work streams dealing with finance; approved housing body delivery and operations; local authority delivery and operations; social housing reform; and the private rental market. In the course of 2015, the work streams provided analysis, guidance and recommendations to the Project Board and the Oversight Group on all aspects of social housing delivery and considered, inter alia, the optimum approach to delivering on the Strategy’s targets within the current constrained housing market, bearing in mind the possible effects on housing supply.

A key objective under the Strategy is to increase social housing output in the immediate, medium and longer term. In order to meet this objective it is necessary to avail of a mixture of delivery mechanisms. In the immediate term the acquisition of homes and the refurbishment of local authority dwellings offer quick solutions to house households on the waiting list. Leasing and renting also offer much needed immediate supply. Over the medium to longer term it will be important that local authorities and approved housing bodies deliver on the 5,000 unit build programme which has been approved.

I recently published the Social Housing Output in 2015report which documents how 13,000 units of social housing were delivered in 2015 and targets the delivery of 17,000 units in 2016 . In the report, the Housing Agency acknowledges its support for the rejuvenation of social housing in Ireland and also commits to monitoring closely the issue of affordability going forward. The report is available on my Department’s website at: .

In terms of the housing sector in Ireland, more generally, increased supply across all markets is required. In order to stimulate the extra supply of houses, in line with the Government’s Construction 2020 Strategy, a number of important measures have been taken aimed at improving housing delivery viability and increasing supply.

The measures include the introduction of a vacant site levy; reductions in development contributions and a targeted development contribution rebate scheme in Dublin and Cork to encourage large scale developments at affordable prices; revised Part V provisions; initiatives to improve financing; implementation of new apartment guidelines; and legislative amendments to introduce greater flexibility and streamlining to the Strategic Development Zone provisions of the Planning and Development Acts. In addition, NAMA is aiming to deliver 20,000 residential units before the end of 2020, with 90% of these units to be in the greater Dublin area.

The Government strategy to address housing supply is comprehensive in terms of policy, legislation and funding. The focus for the period ahead will be on fully implementing both the Construction 2020 Strategyand the Social Housing Strategy 2020.