Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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18. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the social housing target for Cork city was missed by almost 30% in 2023. [15678/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Cork City Council have exceeded their social housing target in all areas by 5% in 2023

The social housing targets for Cork City Council in 2023 were 538 for new build, 86 for leasing and an allocation of 80 units for second hand tenant in situ acquisitions.

In 2023, Cork City Council achieved its target, delivering 540 new build social housing units and 90 for leasing in addition to 109 acquisitions.

This included:

• 265 via local authority delivery through the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP)
• 37 delivered via local authority Part V
• 238 via Approved Housing Body (AHB) delivery including:
  • 234 through the Capital Advance Leasing Facility, and;
  • 4 through the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) turnkey units.

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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Housing for All sets out the range of actions necessary to increase the supply of housing out to 2030 comprising of 54,000 affordable homes to be delivered by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency and through the First Home Scheme, which is a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.

The Plan set ambitious targets for affordable housing and huge efforts have been made across our delivery partners to meet those targets from a standing start.

In 2023, over 4,000 affordable housing supports have been delivered via our delivery partners, an output which has more than doubled since the previous year, and representing an increase of 128% on 2022 activity, which highlights the significant progress achieved to date in relation to affordable housing.

Affordable housing schemes are now operating at scale and this momentum will continue as the pipeline of affordable housing delivery is developed and expanded by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and the Land Development Agency.

Data for affordable housing delivery is published on a quarterly basis, similar to social housing delivery. This data is published up to Quarter 4 2023 and is available on my Department's website.

My Department continues to liaise with all local authorities, and other delivery partners in relation to the on-going development of an affordable housing delivery programme which responds effectively to all affordable housing requirements identified at a local level.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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21. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is aware of the recent report to area committee from DLR that only 140 affordable Purchase and 406 Cost rental are planned up to 2026 and does he agree this is wholly inadequate and what measures does he intend to take to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15656/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has targeted delivery of 54,000 affordable homes between now and 2030, to be facilitated by local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency and via the First Home scheme, a strategic partnership between the State and retail banks.

My Department is supporting the acceleration of affordable housing delivery with funding and other practical measures, both in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown and more widely, with delivery by these key partners who work alongside local authorities.

I note that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, in collaboration with the Land Development Agency, is currently delivering , with support from the Affordable Housing Fund, the largest public housing project in the State at Shanganagh Castle which includes 306 cost rental homes and 91 affordable purchase homes, and which will begin to come on stream this year.

I also note that Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council's currently projected delivery of affordable purchase and cost rental homes, set out in the report referenced, will be supplemented by additional affordable homes being delivered by the Land Development Agency, Approved Housing Bodies and via the First Home Scheme.

The affordable housing pipeline continues to grow as new schemes are identified, planned and approved and will be enhanced further as the higher Part V requirements introduced in the Affordable Housing Act 2021 begin to bear fruit.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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23. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will outline plans to utilise State owned land and modular homes to address the homeless crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15701/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) has been identified as a key measure to address the different housing needs in Ireland and methods to support the development of MMC in Ireland are set out in Housing for All.

MMC is the term used to describe a range of manufacturing and innovative construction alternatives to traditional construction, including modular construction. MMC has the potential to boost productivity, increase efficiency and improve sustainability in the construction sector.

The co-ordination of initiatives to promote MMC adoption is being led by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), through the inter-departmental MMC Leadership and Integration Group.

These initiatives include the Accelerated Social Housing Delivery programme; the Roadmap for increased adoption of MMC in Public Housing; the Construct Innovate Technology Centre; the National Demonstration Park for MMC, and training for industry and public sector professionals.

MMC is central to the Government’s Accelerated Social Housing Delivery Programme. This programme is being led by my Department and will see the delivery by 13 local authorities of at least 1,500 social homes using Modern methods of Construction across approximately 36 sites. It is intended to expand the use of the Design and Build procurement approach to enable greater use of MMC in social and affordable housing delivery.

I commenced section 179A of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended in March 2023 providing a temporary, time-bound measure to exempt local authorities from the requirement for planning permission and from the use of the local authority own development consent process, commonly referred to as the ‘Part 8’ process. This measure is aimed to accelerate the delivery of social, affordable, and cost-rental housing by local authorities on designated local authority-owned or State-owned land zoned to include residential use.

My Department plays a crucial role in addressing homelessness by providing a comprehensive national framework comprising policy, legislation, and funding. This framework supports local authorities in tackling homelessness in their region. While my Department provides this overarching support, individual local authorities bear statutory responsibility for delivering homeless services.

Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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24. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is aware that only 27 cost rental homes are in the pipeline for Cork city for delivery in 2024. [15677/24]

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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38. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of affordable houses, cost rental and cost purchase, homes planned for Cork City and County Council and on the targets he has set for same. [15707/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 and 38 together.

Housing for All sets out the range of actions necessary to increase the supply of housing out to 2030, including 54,000 affordable homes for purchase and rent. These homes will be delivered by Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, the Land Development Agency, through the First Home Scheme, and by bringing vacant homes back into use. Significant public funding is being made available to support all of these delivery streams.

Local Authorities have published 5-year Housing Delivery Action Plans setting out affordable housing delivery targets up to 2026. Both Cork City and Cork County Council have set out plans to deliver 378 and 189 affordable homes respectively over this period. This Local Authority delivery does not include additional affordable homes that will be delivered by the LDA, AHBs, and the First Home Scheme, and via the higher Part V requirements introduced in the Affordable Housing Act 2021. The Delivery Action Plans for both Cork City and Cork County can be found on the respective Council websites.

I should note that the First Home Scheme, which supports first-time buyers acquiring new homes through the use of an equity share model, is available nationwide and since September 2023 now supports those who wish to build their own home.

Specifically in relation to Cost Rental, AHBs have so far delivered 105 homes in Cork City with funding from my Department’s Cost Rental Equity Loan, and I am pleased to announce that last month I approved CREL funding for another 51 AHB Cost Rental homes for delivery next year in Cork City. Further details, along with the advertisement for applications, will be announced closer to delivery.

I have also approved 5 Local Authority affordable housing projects in Cork County to assist with the delivery of 111 Cost Rental homes with support from the Affordable Housing Fund. Additionally, the Land Development Agency, via Project Tosaigh, is advancing the delivery of over 300 homes in Cork City that are scheduled for completion in 2025. I understand that consideration is being given by the LDA to the appropriate mix of cost rental and affordable purchase homes.

It is anticipated that the momentum created by the initial delivery will be maintained this year, and will ramp up into 2025. My Department and I continue to work closely with Local Authorities, AHBs, and the LDA to develop pipelines for delivery of affordable homes across the country, including Cork City and County.