Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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273. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the extent to which he expects to be in a position to offer continued scope for recovery towards resolution of the housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47553/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Government recognises the serious challenge we face in terms of housing. For that reason housing has been made a top priority through the development and implementation of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness.This priority has been reinforced further through increased capital and current funding for housing.  Following Budget 2018, over €6bn has been ringfenced for housing between 2016 and 2021.

Under the Action Plan we have set clear, measurable and ambitious targets, including to:

- Double the annual level of new homes built to 25,000 by 2020;

- Deliver an additional 50,000 social housing units in the period to 2021; and

- Meet the housing needs of some 87,000 households through the Housing Assistance Payment.

Significant progress has been made since Rebuilding Ireland was in the programme of social house building. All the relevant indicators – including planning permissions, construction commencement notices and connections to the ESB grid - are showing very significant upward trends.Planning permissions are up almost half on the same period last year and commencements are also up over 40%.

The rent pressure zones introduced at the beginning of this year have led to a capping of rent inflation below 4%, which is a significant decrease when compared with the increase of more than 8% last year.

Over 19,000 new social housing solutions were provided in 2016, with a further 21,000 such supports to be delivered in 2017. 

Strong supply-side measures are also beginning to have a positive impact, such as the €226m Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF); a streamlined planning process for large-scale housing developments; and other planning reforms to provide flexibility to deliver viable housing schemes and apartment developments in the right locations.

Notwithstanding this wide-ranging platform of action, significant challenges remain and, one year on from Rebuilding Ireland’s publication, I initiated a focused review of the Action Plan. A number of themed initiatives have already been announced as part of the review. 

In relation to social housing and homelessness, these include -

- The increase in social housing build, with the target for 2018 of c.3,000 newly built homes increasing by almost 30% to 3,800 new homes;

- Additional emergency accommodation and family hubs to meet the short-term needs of homeless households; and,

- The establishment of a new Homeless Inter-Agency Group.

Further measures have also been signalled in relation to the rental sector, including:

- A further extension of Rent Pressure Zones;

- An enhanced regulatory role for the Residential Tenancies Board;

- A reinforced awareness campaign to ensure wider awareness by tenants of their rights, an important measure in terms of homelessness prevention; and

- Additional legislative and other measures to strengthen the protections available to tenants and to address issues in relation to short-term lettings.

The Government re-inforced its commitment to delivering on housing through the allocation of very significant funding under Budget 2018.  In total, I have secured €1.9 billion for housing next year, an increase of €600 million, or 46%, on 2017. This represents an increase of 62% on the capital side to build new homes and 35% on the current side to support homelessness, as well as supporting households into new social housing tenancies.

Looking beyond 2018, I have secured an extra €500 million for capital investment in social housing in the years 2019 to 2021 allowing the Rebuilding Ireland social housing target to be increased from 47,000 to 50,000 homes.

Budget 2018 removes the remaining significant obstacles to building more homes, more quickly and at more affordable prices: by investing more in direct house building by the State; by removing the capital gains tax incentive to hold on to residential land; by escalating penalties for land hoarding; by introducing new affordability measures; and by providing a new, more affordable finance vehicle for housebuilding, through Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI), which will provide finance at commercially competitive rates to developers with sites ready to go but who are experiencing difficulty in obtaining funding.

A second phase of LIHAF supported by €50 million in funding will unlock even more sites. A new fund of €25 million will be provided over 2018 and 2019 to unlock local authority-owned land specifically to deliver affordable housing on those sites using models such as co-operative housing that have already proven to be successful but are now needed on a much greater scale. My Department is currently drawing up the criteria for access to this scheme, to be announced in the coming weeks.

I believe that this Government's commitment to tackling housing has been clearly demonstrated in terms of the delivery on Rebuilding Ireland and the resources that have been allocated.My focus and that of all delivery agents will remain firmly on implementation and delivery to maintain and accelerate housing output.