Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide an update on the measures he is taking to increase housing supply in Kerry, including social housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12782/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Government is fully committed to working with all stakeholders to deliver social, affordable and cost rental homes at scale and to continue accelerating housing supply across all tenures. This is demonstrated by the record level of investment which is being provided for the delivery of Housing in 2025, with overall capital funding available of €6.5 billion. The capital provision is supplemented by a further €1.65 billion in current funding to address housing need.

The number of completed new build social homes, and the number in the pipeline, continues to remain strong year-on-year, with new construction projects added to the pipeline regularly. The strongest national delivery of social housing since 1975 was recorded in 2022 when 10,254 homes were delivered and that record was exceeded again in 2023. In total in 2023, 11,938 new social homes were delivered by local authorities and AHBs, including 8,110 new-build homes, 1,829 acquisitions and 1,999 homes through leasing programmes.

The latest Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR) shows that there were 735 homes on site and at various stages of design and procurement in Kerry at the end of Quarter 3 2024. Data for the Quarter 4 2024 CSR is currently being collated. All CSRs 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, location etc. at this link: www.data.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q3-2024

A central element of Housing for All is to build institutional capacity. As part of the measures to support institutional capacity, Housing for All commits to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to both programme manage and initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects and recognises that this requires the resourcing of the housing services of local authorities. 10 additional housing posts have been approved for Kerry County Council to deliver social housing. Additional resources were also allocated to the Housing Agency Project and Procurement Office to support local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies deliver housing.

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) has been identified as a key measure to address increased housing delivery and methods to support increased use of MMC are set out in Pathway 5 of Housing for All. In July 2023 the Roadmap for increased adoption of MMC in Public Housing delivery was published and sets out recommendations to progress the most advanced and efficient construction methods in the delivery of housing

In December 2022, funding of €94m was provided to local authorities to address legacy land debts. The provision of this funding was linked to the immediate development of a housing proposal, a commitment to use Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and for construction to start in 2023 or no later than 2024. A total of 26 sites received funding as part of an accelerated delivery programme, and with some additional sites since added, my Department is overseeing a project to progress delivery of MMC projects on 36 sites which will deliver more than 1,500 new social homes across 13 local authorities including Kerry.

My Department has embedded the requirement to adopt a standardised approach for all Social Housing projects through adoption of the Design Manual for Quality Housing and Employers Requirements. Standard internal layouts and CAD Drawings are available to design teams. This is promoting a consistent approach nationally; it is decreasing the amount of time spent on reviewing proposals to achieve value for money; it is shortening detailed design phases; and it allows for a more efficient tender process.

The Housing for All Land Acquisition Fund was established in 2022 to support local authorities to acquire land to deliver new build social housing schemes and this was extended in 2024 to include land for affordable housing. The fund has an overall allocation of €239m and is managed by the Housing Agency. To date Kerry County Council have acquired 2 sites through the Fund which can deliver 74 new social homes.

In order to accelerate the approval process, local authorities have options that allow them to deviate from using the 4-stage process to achieve funding approval for social housing construction projects. The value for Single Stage projects has increased from €2m to €8m. This increased single stage approval process takes approximately 4 weeks with my Department.

The review of the CALF Funding Model has also brought an opportunity for the AHB and local authority sectors to bring forward both new projects and those which have been delayed due to viability issues, especially in those local authorities’ areas where the viability of schemes was traditionally an issue. The new CALF scheme has unlocked these areas for social housing delivery.

Last year, Government approved new national housing targets up to the year 2030. 303,000 homes will aim to be delivered in the period from 2025 to 2030, equating to an annual average of 50,500 homes, building up to 60,000 in 2030. The revised targets were informed by research and modelling by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on population projections and long-run housing demand, which was published during the summer. The revised national housing targets will inform the revision to existing social housing targets at a local authority level. Work is ongoing in this regard.

As detailed under Housing for All, the Government plans to deliver 54,000 affordable purchase and cost rental homes by 2030. A comprehensive implementation strategy is in place to support the various affordable housing schemes now being delivered by a range of delivery partners.

The Affordable Housing Fund (AHF) is available to all local authorities to assist towards the cost of developing affordable housing at locations where significant affordability needs have been identified. My Department, the Housing Agency and Housing Delivery Co-ordination Office of the Local Government Management Association continue to be available to assist local authorities in relation to ongoing development of their affordable housing delivery programmes.

In addition, other measures such as the First Home Scheme, the Local Authority Home Loan, the Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Scheme, the Help to Buy Incentive, and the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant are also available nationwide to help make home ownership more affordable.

Further information on affordable housing schemes currently advertised can be found on the websites of respective delivery partners, as well as on the Affordable Homes website, www.affordablehomes.ie.

My Department publishes comprehensive programme-level statistics on a quarterly basis on social and affordable housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Q3 2024, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/

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.

Shay Brennan (Dublin Rathdown, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will report on housing commencement figures nationwide for 2024 and to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12582/25]

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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61. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the introduction of allocations schemes for cost rental developments and income thresholds for single people sharing, as set out in legislation passed by the Oireachtas in November 2024. [12587/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 amended Part 3 of the Affordable Housing Act 2024 in order to allow for the option of allocation plans for cost rental homes, which would allow landlords to propose targeted approaches for the allocation of homes, subject to my approval.

The legislation also provided for the Minister to prescribe income levels for different compositions of household for cost rental tenancies, which will allow for the introduction of individual income eligibility requirements for persons in shared households. This will reflect the variety of household formations which now exist and aims to increase access to cost rental by allowing people to share a home with, for example, friends or colleagues within a multi-occupancy setting.

My Department is now preparing secondary legislation to implement these provisions, which will be completed shortly. Allocation plans and multi-occupancy will allow for more specific targeting of cost rental homes, and for tenanting options which increase the accessibility of cost rental for a wide range of applicants, ensuring the sector continues to support those who need secure and affordable housing.

Aisling Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of new homes completed in Meath from July 2020 to the end of 2024; his expectations for 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12615/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of new homes completed in Kerry in 2024; his expectations for 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12407/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 97 together.

Continuing to increase the supply of new homes is key to meeting need and addressing many of the challenges currently facing the housing market. In this regard, the Programme for Government commits to introducing a new, all-of-government national housing plan, which will build on the robust platform laid by Housing for All and will support delivery of more than 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030.

Supply has increased significantly in recent years. Some 125,000 new homes have been delivered since July 2020, with 92,500 of these delivered between 2022 and 2024 inclusive, exceeding the combined target for the period by 5,500 or so.

This progress has been mirrored at local level. Some 7,118 new homes were completed in Meath between July 2020 and December 2024, with more than 1,600 of these delivered in 2024. At the same time, some 2,586 new homes were completed in Kerry between July 2020 and December 2024, with 485 delivered in 2024.

I am focusing now on how we build on this robust platform and further scale-up delivery both in the immediate-term and to meet our housing needs over the longer-term.

My Department does not provide forecasts of completions in any given year.