Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

235. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the progress of Sligo County Council's Rebuilding Ireland housing programme; his views on the speed of progress in County Sligo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38120/18]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan, the social housing needs of over 137,000 households will be met over the period 2016 to 2021, supported by over €6 billion of investment, by delivering an additional 50,000 social housing units, while an additional 87,000 households will have their housing need met via Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) and the Rental Accommodation Scheme.

Sligo County Council is progressing the delivery of social housing under a range of programmes to meet the social housing needs of the county, in line with the targets set for them under the Plan.  Delivery against target is published on a quarterly basis on my Department’s website and includes social housing delivery by each local authority, including Sligo County Council, including through new build and acquisition, housing provided by Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), accommodation provided using the private rented sector e.g. under HAP, the Rental Accommodation Scheme and the Social Housing Leasing Expenditure Programme. Data on delivery up to end Q1 2018 is published at the following link: https://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision. 

A detailed breakdown of the programme of new social housing build, including that by Sligo County Council,  is available at the following link, which also covers the period up to end Q1 2018: http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/minister-murphy-publishes-social-housing-construction-status-report-q1-2018/. 

The timing and delivery of these projects is a matter in the first place for the Council. I am pleased to see concrete progress being made, such as the imminent completion of the development at Fr. O'Flanagan Terrace in Sligo town, where the 8 already completed new homes will be added to with a further 14 houses very soon.  Construction is also to commence on a number of other sites in the county shortly, including Knappagh Road, Rosses Point, Ballymote and Collooney. Another 10 houses at Dromore West have been recently added to the pipeline of projects and the Council is currently working to bring forward other projects at various locations.

Data on social housing delivery for end Q2 2018 is being collated and will be published shortly.  In general terms, Sligo County Council has a target for social housing delivery of 60 homes across their Build, Acquisition and Lease programmes in 2018, with an additional 179 dwellings to be delivered under HAP and the Rental Accommodation Scheme. To end Q1 2018, the Council had delivered a total of 116 homes across all programmes.

I am pleased to see this progress with new projects, on top of what has been already delivered.  I am keen, however, that all local authorities, including Sligo, further accelerate their programmes and I have assured them that the necessary funding to support their activity is available.