Written answers

Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government

Housing Schemes

Photo of Ken O'FlynnKen O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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687. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of housing developments or regeneration projects approved by the Department that have not proceeded due to cost overruns, planning redesigns, legal challenges, or local authority bottlenecks. [23341/25]

Photo of Ken O'FlynnKen O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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690. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide a comparative analysis of cost-effectiveness between turnkey acquisitions and direct build schemes. [23344/25]

Photo of Ken O'FlynnKen O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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691. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide a breakdown of total expenditure on land acquisition, enabling works, and professional services for government-funded housing since 2020. [23345/25]

Photo of Ken O'FlynnKen O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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694. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of housing delivery projects that have stalled due to interdepartmental inefficiencies, and the timeline for legislative reform to streamline approval and procurement processes. [23348/25]

Photo of Ken O'FlynnKen O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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696. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide a breakdown of all housing-related projects that exceeded their approved budgets by more than 15%, including the cause and financial consequences. [23350/25]

Photo of Ken O'FlynnKen O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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700. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will establish a housing delivery acceleration unit within his Department, composed of public, private, and voluntary sector housing experts to audit stalled projects, eliminate waste, and publicly report on delivery performance each quarter. [23355/25]

Photo of James BrowneJames Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 687, 690, 691, 694, 696 and 700 together.

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). Comprehensive data on social and affordable housing is published on my Department's website up to Quarter 4 2024, including completed acquisitions: www.gov.ie/en/collection/6060e-overall-social-housing-provision/

A review of social housing delivery and spend was undertaken by the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) in conjunction with my Department and published in January 2025. This has been published and is available at this link: www.assets.gov.ie/static/documents/review-of-social-housing-delivery-and-spend.pdf. This review includes a comparative analysis of cost per unit across delivery methods, including turnkey acquisitions and direct build schemes. In addition, the most recent Basic Unit Costs and Acquisition Cost Guidelines were issued in Q2 2024 to support consistent and cost effective delivery of social housing.

In progressing major construction projects it is important to pursue timely delivery while also ensuring value for money in terms of Exchequer funding. In this regard, social housing projects, like all publicly-funded construction projects, must comply with the Government’s Infrastructure Guidelines and Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF), the objectives of which are to ensure greater cost certainty, better value for money and financial accountability.

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.

Proposals for measures to help scale up delivery further are being considered in the context of the development of the new national housing plan, to follow Housing for All, as committed to in the Programme for Government.

The overall investment framework to support the new housing plan will be considered by my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation, including through the review of the National Development Plan.

The information sought in relation to all housing projects exceeding their approved budget is not readily available and its compilation would involve a disproportionate amount of time and work.

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