Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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2024. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the houses built as part of the State fund established to build social and affordable housing, including the location of each house, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38166/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, published in July 2016, sets out the Government’s approach to addressing the current challenges in the housing sector.  It is focused on increasing supply across all tenures and, in respect of social housing, the target is to deliver 47,000 housing units through build, refurbishment, acquisition and leasing over the period 2016 to 2021. This activity is being supported through a significantly increased investment programme of €5.35 billion. Alongside this is an accelerated roll-out of the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme which over the lifetime of the Plan is targeted to meet the needs of more than 83,000 households.

While still at an early stage of implementation, there is already strong evidence that the focus on increasing and accelerating housing supply in Rebuilding Ireland is achieving results.  In 2016, the housing needs of over 19,000 households were met through a range of housing programmes, supported by expenditure of over €935 million.  A further €1.3 billion has been provided for 2017 to support the accelerated delivery of social housing and the achievement of this year's target to meet the housing needs of over 21,000 households.

A comprehensive status list of social housing schemes for all local authority areas, can be accessed at the following link: .  This status report covers the period up to the end of Quarter 1 of 2017 and lists 607 approved social housing construction projects, their locations and also includes a range of information relating to their advancement, including those delivered during 2016 and to the end of Quarter 1 of 2017, it also shows those progressing through planning, design and construction. Details in respect of Quarter 2 of 2017 will be published shortly on the Rebuilding Ireland website.

These 607 projects are funded under a range of different initiatives such as local authority construction, turnkey developments, rapid delivery, regeneration programmes and construction and turnkey developments by approved housing bodies (AHBs).  The precise timing for the advancement of each of these projects, including completion dates, is a matter for the relevant local authorities and AHBs concerned, in the first instance. 

Further project approvals are being added to the construction programme as they are developed by local authorities and AHBs, updated details of which will be published on a regular basis.  I am keen that all local authorities advance their social housing projects as speedily as possible and I have assured them that funding is in place to support their activity in this regard. Furthermore, last week I announced that from 2018, the budget for social housing is being reorientated away from acquisitions and into direct build programmes for local authorities and AHBs. As a result, the current target for 2018 of c.3,000 newly built homes will increase by almost 30% to c.3800.  When combined with homes to be delivered through Part V, and including old social housing stock that is being refurbished and returned to use, some 5,000 new social housing homes will be delivered in 2018.

As a result of this policy shift, this trend will continue across the current capital plan so that more than 20,000 new social housing homes will be built directly by local authorities and approved housing bodies over the lifetime of the capital plan.

The Government is committed to further increasing the number of new homes which will be built as part of the Social Housing Build Programme.  Discussions are ongoing with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and decisions on additional funding for social housing purposes will be finalised in the context of Budget 2018.