Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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139. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will with a matter of urgency authorise the purchase of a minimum of 200 houses from the open market to facilitate the housing needs in respect of affordable housing and local authority rental housing in north Kildare given the large number of people now in danger of homelessness (details supplied); if he will ensure that all local authorities have a ready proposal in respect of such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39457/24]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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140. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he continues to monitor the situation throughout north Kildare, where more and more tenants are about to become homeless, and whose only hope is the necessary provision of funding by his Department given the availability of houses on the open market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39458/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together.

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. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. 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.

Under Housing for All, each local authority was required to prepare a Housing Delivery Action Plan. This Plan sets out details of both social and affordable housing delivery as appropriate over the period 2022-2026, in line with targets set under Housing for All. In preparing the Plans, local authorities were required to include details of land available to deliver housing. The Plans also include details of the locations and delivery streams for social housing schemes. The Plans have been published on the local authority’s own websites.

Under my Department’s Social Housing Investment Programme, funding is available to all local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies to deliver additional social housing stock through direct construction or in partnership with developers through 'turnkey' projects. As such, housing developments are constructed by professional contractors/developers in line with those agreements.

In relation to affordable housing, affordability is at the heart of Housing for All. Since its launch over 3,800 affordable homes have been delivered, supported by the Affordable Housing Fund, the Cost Rental Equity Loan, Project Tosaigh and the First Home Scheme. This momentum will continue as the pipeline of affordable housing delivery is developed and expanded by our delivery partners, including local authorities, AHBs, the LDA, and First Home.

The Government has developed the Cost Rental Tenant In-Situ (CRTiS) scheme for tenants in private rental homes who are at risk of homelessness because a landlord intends to sell the property but who are not in receipt of social housing supports. The scheme was established on a temporary administrative basis from 1 April 2023 and is managed by the Housing Agency, pending further policy development over the longer term, with the intention of transitioning these tenants and homes to the standard Cost Rental model. I am informed that the Housing Agency is engaging with more than 190 landlords across all Local Authority areas, with a view to the purchase of those homes.

For 2023 and 2024, the Government agreed that there would be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and my Department provided funding for local authorities to acquire at least 1,500 social homes per annum. The additional acquisitions have primarily focused on properties where a tenant is in receipt of social housing supports and has received a Notice of Termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. My Department issued a circular in March 2023, setting out details of these arrangements.

Each local authority has been provided with a provisional allocation for social housing acquisitions in 2024. An increase of 50%, in addition to this initial allocation, has been applied to enable local authorities to acquire homes within these parameters under delegated sanction. Acquisitions above this increased amount are subject to a sanction request. Additional guidance in this regard issued to local authorities in June.

Comprehensive data on social and affordable housing is published on my Department's website up to Quarter 1 2024, including completed acquisitions, including those completed in County Kildare: .

My Department publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR). The CSR provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes.

The most recent publication was for Quarter 1 2024. All Construction Status Reports are available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/

A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis by local authority at the link below: www.gov.ie/en/publication/cbe5c-social-housing-construction-projects-status-report-q1-2024/

Significant progress is being made to deliver the ambitious targets contained in Housing for All and my Department is working closely with the local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and other stakeholders to accelerate the delivery of social and affordable housing.