Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1334. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the measures he is taking to increase housing supply in Kilkenny, including social housing and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20718/25]

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1335. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government for an update on the measures he is taking to increase housing supply in Carlow, including social housing and affordable housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20719/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1334 and 1335 together.

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 €6.8 billion. The capital provision is supplemented by a further €1.65 billion in current funding to address housing need.

Data on social and affordable housing delivery is collated at local authority level. The latest Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR) shows that there 10,614 social homes are currently onsite with an additional 13,996 homes at design and tender stage at the end of Quarter 4 2024. 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: opendata.housing.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q4-2024

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. 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.

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.

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.

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 and affordable housing targets at a local authority level. Work is ongoing in this regard.

Affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of the Government’s housing policy. As detailed under Housing for All, the Government plans to deliver 54,000 affordable homes, including 36,000 affordable purchase and 18,000 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.

Local authorities, including Carlow and Kilkenny County Councils, have carried out a Housing Needs and Demand Assessment in their areas. On foot of this assessment, both local authorities have developed and published their Housing Delivery Action Plans, outlining their plans to deliver social and affordable housing during the 2022-2026 period. Each local authority's Housing Delivery Action Plan is available on their own website.

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 Agency continue to be available to assist local authorities in relation to ongoing development of their affordable housing delivery programmes.

In addition, the First Home Scheme supports first-time buyers in purchasing new houses and apartments in the private market through the use of an equity share model, similar to that employed in the Local Authority Affordable Purchase Scheme. Further, since September 2023, the First Home Scheme now supports those who wish to build their own home. The scheme is available nationwide and more information can be found on the First Home Scheme website.

Other measures such as 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.

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 Q4 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/