Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 237 to 240, inclusive, together.

Action 20.4 of Housing for All commits to the development of "new regulatory controls requiring short-term and holiday lets to register with Fáilte Ireland with a view to ensuring that houses are used to best effect in areas of housing need”.

Funding was allocated in Budget 2022 to Fáilte Ireland which has been tasked with the design and implementation of a short term lettings registration system. Officials in my Department are working in consultation with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Fáilte Ireland on scoping out the legislative provisions that will be required to underpin such a system with a view to bringing forward the necessary legislation in the coming months.

The Deputy will also be aware that new arrangements in relation to short-term letting, aimed at strengthening the pre-existing regulatory controls in this area, were proposed by section 3 of the Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Bill 2022. When commenced by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the new arrangements will provide that, for a period of six months, non-principal private residences in Rent Pressure Zones shall not be advertised or accept bookings on online platforms or other media for short term letting purposes without the necessary planning permission being in place in respect of the property concerned or the property concerned being otherwise exempted. Pending the establishment and commencement of operations of the new short-term letting registration system to be operated by Fáilte Ireland, the six month period referred to may be extended for further 6 month periods subject to positive resolutions by both Houses of the Oireachtas.

This legislation has been notified to the EU Commission under the requirements of the EU TRIS (Technical Regulation Information Society) Directive having regard to potential implications for internal market and information society services. This is a standard notification requirement for relevant legislative proposals by national Governments so that any proposals in this area can be examined by the EU Commission.

In the meantime, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage continues to engage with relevant stakeholder groups on the detailed operational arrangements to be applied in relation to the proposed measure which will be provided for in supplementary regulations.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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241. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the extent to which efforts are being made to control house price inflation including the possibility of having the local authorities engage builders to build public housing on State-owned lands to facilitate local authority and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46538/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.

There has been significant construction products inflation during 2022 due to a number of factors, notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising energy prices and constrained supply chains. A central element of the Government’s housing policy is to support the delivery of public housing on local authority land. Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing from 2022 to 2026. In the same period over 29,000 affordable homes will be delivered including 18,600 affordable purchase homes and 10,400 cost rental homes.

A key action under Housing for All was the preparation of Housing Delivery Action Plans by local authorities. These Plans set out details of social and affordable housing delivery over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. The Plans also include details of the locations and delivery streams for social and affordable housing, including land available to deliver this housing and future land requirements. The Housing Delivery Action Plans are available on the websites of the relevant local authorities.