Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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384. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of local authority housing applicants recorded by each local authority by county; the likely time schedule to meet their accommodation needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46761/21]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Details on the number of households qualified for social housing support in each local authority administrative area are provided in the annual statutory Summary of Social Housing Assessments (SSHA).

The most recent summary, conducted in November 2020, shows that 61,880 households were assessed as qualified for and being in need of social housing support. This represents a decrease of 6,813 households or 9.9% on the last assessment in June 2019. Since 2016, the numbers have decreased from 91,600 to 61,880, a reduction of 32.4%.

Below is the link to the summary report for 2020 which includes breakdowns by each local authority across a range of categories.

In relation to the specific question posed by the Deputy regarding the likely time schedule to meet a households accommodation needs, allocation of social housing support is a matter for each individual local authority in accordance with its allocation scheme made under Section 22 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, the information sought is not held by my Department.

However, details on the length of time spent on the record of qualified households (waiting lists) can be found at tables 2.8 and A1.8 of the SSHA report.

It should be noted that the SSHA is a point in time snapshot of the demand for social housing support in each local authority area and does not necessarily reflect the dynamic nature of entry to and exit from the housing waiting lists.

SSHA 2020 Report

www.gov.ie/en/publication/970ea-summary-of-social-housing-assessments-2020-key-findings/#:~:text=The%20Summary%20of%20Social%20Housing,is%20not%20currently%20being%20met

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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385. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the extent to which he expects to respond to the needs of the indigenous rural population, the families of which are in a position to provide a home for themselves in their native place but are being dissuaded thereby throwing a greater burden onto the housing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46762/21]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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386. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the extent to which he proposes to address the issue of housing for the indigenous young population of rural Ireland who have access to a building site from a parent or relative and who wish to provide their own housing thereby contributing to the alleviation of the housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46763/21]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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387. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of indigenous rural applicants for planning permission to provide their own homes who have had their applications refused in the past 12 months; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this places further competition for scarce housing supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46764/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 to 387, inclusive, together.

Under the Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing 2005, planning authorities are required to frame the planning policies in their development plans in a balanced and measured way that ensures the housing needs of rural communities are met, while avoiding excessive urban-generated housing, particularly in those areas near cities and towns that are under pressure from urban generated development.

The Guidelines identify four rural area types in respect of which planning authorities may formulate policies for ‘urban generated’ and ‘rural generated’ rural housing. Section 3.2.3 of the Guidelines suggests that in areas “under major urban influence”, planning authorities may define “rural generated” housing need for “Persons who are an intrinsic part of the rural community” and for “Persons working full-time or part-time in rural areas”.

Since 2018, the National Planning Framework (NPF) is the national planning policy document providing overall strategic policy for the future development of Ireland through specific National Policy Objectives (NPOs) that aim to support the overall rural and small town pattern of development in Ireland and deliver strengthened and diversified rural communities.

NPO 15 of the NPF fully supports the sustainable development of rural areas by encouraging growth and arresting decline in areas that have experienced low population growth or decline in recent decades, while simultaneously indicating the need to manage the development of certain areas around cities and towns that are under strong urban influence, in order to avoid over-development of those areas.

NPO 15 is supplemented by NPO 19, which aims to ensure that a policy distinction is made between areas experiencing significant overspill development pressure from urban areas, particularly within the commuter catchment of cities, towns and centres of employment, on the one hand, and other remoter and weaker rural areas where population levels may be low and or declining, on the other. NPF Policy NPO19 is aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social (intrinsic part of the community) or economic (persons working full or part time) need may be applied by planning authorities in rural areas under urban influence.

Updated Rural Housing Planning Guidelines are currently being prepared by my Department to ensure consistency with new requirements and legislation at national and EU level introduced in respect of areas related to rural housing such as environmental protection, the Gaeltacht and climate action. The new guidelines will ensure a more consistent approach between counties and alignment with NPF objectives, and will be published in draft before the end of 2021. In the meantime, the NPF objectives together with the 2005 Guidelines, enable planning authorities to continue to draft and adopt county development plan policies that enable planning applications to be considered and planning permission to be granted for houses in rural areas.

The data requested is not collated by my Department. Planning statistics are compiled by each planning authority on an annual basis for collation and publication on my Department’s website, at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/service/9e4ee-get-planning-statistics/

The data collected relates to the total number of applications and decisions for all developments that require planning permission, broken down by year and planning authority.

In addition, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical office, compiles and makes available detailed data on a number of planning related issues including permissions granted and completions by development type and county. Data is available at the following link on the CSO website: www.cso.ie/en/statistics/construction/planningpermissions/

It is noteworthy that there is strong delivery of new homes in rural areas nationally in recent years – with more than 25,000 rural house planning permissions granted in last 5 years. In the same period, more than 90% of that number of rural homes were built, comprising around one in three houses completed in Ireland between 2016 and 2020.