Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

212. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the reason, in the context of the large capital allocations available to local authorities under the Social Housing Strategy 2020, 2015 was the worst year on record for local authority own builds with only 75 new social housing units built by local authorities. [23218/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In May 2015, the first major direct build social housing programme for some years was announced with over 100 separate housing projects. This was followed up by further approvals and announcements in July 2015 and January 2016. Between these three major announcements, almost €680 million has been allocated for over 3,900 social housing units, mainly via new construction projects and also including turnkey developments and acquisitions. Details of these project approvals are available on my Department’s website at the following links:

.

These projects created a pipeline of new social housing construction projects that had not existed for many years, during which period the role of local authorities in delivering social housing had hugely diminished.

The advancement of construction projects by its nature takes time and given this time-lag, local authorities delivered permanent social housing units in 2015 by acquiring over 1,000 properties through turn-key developments and other purchases and by returning 2,700 vacant units back into productive use.

In general, the time taken to advance social housing projects through planning and design and onto construction is consistent with an average pre-construction period for delivery of private housing (pre-design, preliminary design, planning approval, potential planning appeals, detailed design and statutory Building Control), although private housing developments are not subject to the time factors associated with the public procurement requirements that apply to social housing.

With the publication of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness, further measures will be taken to improve, support and accelerate delivery of social housing, including the establishment of a high-level Housing Delivery Office within my Department to support local authorities, AHBs and all stakeholders involved in the delivery of housing projects.