Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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263. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the measures his Department has taken to encourage the supply of housing in the private sector in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11395/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, under-supply of housing across all tenures is at the heart of the significant challenges which exist in the housing sector. At an overall level, 25,000 new homes per year are targeted to meet demand nationally. The key objective of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness is to increase and accelerate housing delivery, across all tenures, to help individuals and families find homes.

With regard to increasing the supply of private housing in particular, Pillar 3 of Rebuilding Ireland, entitled “Build More Homes”, has as its key objective a doubling of housing output, from approximately 12,500 homes in 2015, to deliver at least 25,000 homes per annum by 2021. In order to support the supply of affordable housing and to ensure a steady supply of development land and planning permissions so that housing providers can plan ahead effectively in response to current and emerging demands in Donegal and other counties, Rebuilding Ireland sets out key actions which provide for:

- active State-land management;

- greater certainty in the planning process, including provisions introduced in the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016;

- targeted investment in enabling infrastructure, including through the €200 million Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund;

- competitive financing for developers to fund on-site housing infrastructure through ISIF;

- reviewing and adjustment as necessary and practicable, in relation to construction cost inputs; and,

- development of capacity and skills within the construction sector.

The Strategy for the Rental Sector published in December 2016 also contains a number of actions targeted at increasing the supply of properties to rent; these actions have been incorporated into the reporting under Rebuilding Ireland. Updates on the implementation of Rebuilding Ireland, including those that will encourage the supply of housing nationally, are outlined in the first two Quarterly Progress Reports, covering the cumulative period from July to December 2016, available on www.rebuildingireland.ie. The Third Quarterly Progress Report, covering Quarter 1 2017, is expected to be published in late April/early May.

A new monthly housing activity report is available on the Rebuilding Ireland website at the following link:

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It shows upward trends in activity in terms of planning permissions, commencements and completions; indeed, completions reached approximately 15,000 homes in 2016.

Of course, while building new homes is a key part of the overall delivery under Rebuilding Ireland, making better use of vacant houses and property is another key objective under Pillar 5 – Utilise Existing Stock. A new National Vacant Housing Re-Use Strategy is currently being finalised and I have already announced a €32m Repair and Leasing initiative for vacant housing, one of several initiatives under Pillar 5. Other initiatives include the Buy and Renew Scheme which provides funding for local authorities to purchase and remediate vacant properties. Under the auspices of the Cabinet Committee on Housing, chaired by An Taoiseach, the Government and I will be keeping the implementation of Rebuilding Ireland under regular and active review.