Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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560. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the way in which the €2.4 billion announced in budget 2021 will be spent on the HAP and RAS schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32590/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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In Budget 2021, the total funding being made available for the delivery of housing programmes is €3.3 billion. This overall investment will see the social housing needs of over 28,500 households being met in 2021.

As part of the overall capital funding available of €2.031 billion, local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) will deliver 12,750 new social homes through build, acquisition and leasing programmes.

The €1.276 billion in current funding for 2021 will support the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) along with a range of other critical housing programmes and supports. These will include the costs of both ongoing and newly sourced homes, the provision of emergency accommodation and services for homeless households, supports for older people, people with a disability and travellers, and funding to support agency operational costs.

Budget 2021 provides €558 million for the HAP scheme which will allow for the continued support of existing HAP households and also enable an additional 15,000 households to be supported by HAP in 2021. €133 million has been allocated to support the cost of RAS in 2021. This funding will go towards supporting 800 RAS tenancies targeted to be achieved by local authorities in 2021, and the ongoing cost of supporting continuing RAS contracts in place at the end of 2020.