Opposition parties yesterday accused the Government of failing to deliver on its commitment to provide "social and affordable" housing. Carl O'Brien and Elaine Keogh report.
Their comments followed a report in The Irish Times which showed 163 such houses were built under a Government plan to provide cheaper housing in private housing developments last year. This is despite a record output of 69,000 houses and apartments.
However, the Taoiseach said that, while the 163 figure was correct, about 2,600 houses had been provided under an older initiative dating back to 1999.
Fine Gael's spokesman on the environment, Mr Bernard Allen, said the figures showed the Government had "reneged" on its commitment made with the social partners.
"There have been winners and losers in the housing market since the Government took office in 1997. Prices have trebled and waiting lists have doubled, and the only winners have been the Government who have reaped the benefits of a huge tax take," Mr Allen said.
The Labour Party's environment spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, accused the Government of "turning its back on working families" who were struggling to provide a house for themselves.
The Green Party said effective Government intervention had not occurred because of links between the main political parties and the construction lobby.
However, Mr Ahern said the Government was doing more than opposition parties had done. "When they [Fine Gael] had an opportunity they were building about 20,000 houses a year, now we are building 80,000. There are about 12,000 people being accommodated this year by affordable housing.
"The targets we set for housing we are way ahead of. What the Irish Times article correctly mentions is a figure under Part V [of the Planning and Development Act], but it is one issue, and in any reading of affordable housing initiatives the figure is 12,000."
A spokesman for for the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, admitted that only 163 homes had been built under this provision, but said another 2,610 were being provided under an earlier scheme.
Building has yet to begin, meanwhile, on the 10,000 affordable houses promised during the lifetime of the Sustaining Progress deal. The Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Mr Noel Ahern, said work was due to begin on a number of projects, but conceded that they would not all be completed within the lifetime of the three-year deal.
Under the Planning and Development Act, developers and local authorities can opt for alternatives, such as financial sums, instead of social and affordable houses. The Department of Environment yesterday said this money was ring-fenced for use on social housing projects.