Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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79. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will ensure that councils that are not able to meet the deadline for home acquisition and renovation by the end of 2020 have the deadline extended due to the delays in the programme due to Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37316/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Acquisition of properties for social housing purposes by local authorities are part of their delivery approach, focusing on priority situations as part of an overall strategy tailored to meet local needs effectively. Where renovation works are required, these should be carried out without delay to ensure that home is available for letting as speedily as possible.

Local authorities are working to deliver their acquisition programmes for this year and it is important that they are delivered. If any individual local authority has a particular issue with their acquisitions programme, they should contact my Department on the precise issue, without delay. 

In Budget 2021, the total funding being made available for the delivery of housing programmes is €3.3bn. A major focus of this investment will be the overall target of 9,500 new build social homes, with a further 800 social homes to be delivered through strategic acquisitions and 2,450 under the various leasing programmes.

With the priority being on advancing and completing the significant social housing build programme that is underway, it is important that acquisitions undertaken in 2020 should, in so far as possible, be finalised and funded this year.