€21bn to be invested in social and affordable housing

Accommodation:The Government has said it will invest some €21 billion in social and affordable housing over the next seven years.

It said this would help provide accommodation for some 140,000 new households, while additional families would have the quality of their homes improved through renewal or adaptation schemes.

A total of €17.1 billion will be spent on the provision and renewal of social housing, with the construction of an estimated 60,000 new houses being funded during the period 2007-2013.

Under the plan, some 27,000 new homes for people in need of social housing will be commenced or acquired before 2009.

In addition to the capital programme, the plan promises "substantial provision" of exchequer funds to provide accommodation in the private rental sector for those with a housing need.

These monies will be channelled through two existing vehicles: the social welfare rent supplement allowance run by the Health Service Executive, and the rental accommodation scheme operated by housing authorities. The Government expects a gradual movement of households with long-term housing needs from the rent supplement to the rental accommodation scheme.

"The aim of the [ social housing programme] is to deliver greater quantity of social housing options and at the same time to improve the overall quality of this tenure. This will involve a commitment to delivering high-quality development in mixed community settings with proper attention to the planning and design of new housing to ensure that developments do not contribute to or reinforce social segregation," according to the plan.

A further €4.2 billion will be invested in affordable housing and private housing upgrades, with particular emphasis on those most in need, including the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Government said this would result in some 40,000 households benefiting from affordable housing over the period, though it said new targets may be set in light of "market development and needs" when progress is assessed in 2010.

Of the €4.2 billion, exchequer funding will focus on subsidies to make homes affordable, while other expenditure relates to funding mortgages by means of loans raised through the Housing Finance Agency.

The plan envisages that in many cases local authorities will act as "enablers" of affordable housing and will be in a position to offer homes on their own lands, State lands or under arrangements with private developers at discounted prices.

A number of "public-private partnership-type projects" will also be advanced under the Sustaining Progress affordable housing initiative. This involves making surplus State lands and property available to private developers, enabling them to provide private housing at more affordable prices.

Minister for Housing Noel Ahern said the Government was setting out a "challenging but exciting vision" for housing. "We will be using this investment wisely to provide choice and new opportunities for the maximum number of households," he said.