A further 1,600 new Social Houses in the pipeline
During a visit to Mayfield Park, Clondalkin, a new Local Authority housing scheme, on which 18 homes at a cost of €4.1m, are under construction, the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community & Local Government, Mr Simon Coveney TD published an updated status list of social housing schemes that are advancing nationwide following on from the status list published on 20 February 2017.
“I’m delighted to say that since the publication of the last status report, the number of social housing schemes in the pipeline nationwide has risen from 504 to 607 and from 8,430 units to over 10,072 units. This shows that significant progress is being made in terms of social housing delivery and in Q1 2017 alone, over 1,600 new social housing units have been added to the pipeline. I am very pleased with this progress and of course I’m keen that all local authorities advance these social housing projects, as speedily as possible, and I have assured all involved in the delivery of these units, that funding is in place to support their activity.”
Local Authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, and the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government have been advancing a suite of social housing projects, through a range of delivery mechanisms and programmes, and a strong construction pipeline is in now place, which will see over 10,000 new social houses being delivered over the coming years, some of which have already been completed in 2016 and the first quarter of this year. This represents a major escalation and acceleration in the social housing build programme.
In terms of immediate delivery, just over 650 new social houses were built in 2016 and we aim to increase this significantly in 2017 to over 2,400.
Projects continue to be prepared and brought forward by local authorities and approved housing bodies. The Department will continue to approve projects to ensure that there are sufficient projects advanced and ready to avail of the significant increases in funding that will be available over the coming years. In the context of the Housing Needs Assessment, published in 2016, we will also ensure that new homes are delivered in the communities that need them most.
It should be noted that Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness sets out the Government’s ambitious social housing programme to deliver 47,000 new social housing units by 2021, with funding in place of €5.35 billion. Of these 47,000 new social houses that will be delivered for households, 26,000 of these will be homes that will be delivered via construction or in some cases through major refurbishment works.
“The Department will continue to approve projects to ensure that there are sufficient projects advanced and ready to avail of the significant increases in funding that will be available over the coming years. As can be seen from the list, we now have a rich pipeline of projects which will come to fruition. I have full confidence in the Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies to continue to build on the momentum that we have and to get on with the job of building them,” concluded Minister Coveney.
