James Browne has conceded it will be “challenging” to reach the housing output targets of 41,000 this year.
Speaking in Dublin on Thursday, the Minister for Housing confirmed he intended to bring a plan to reform rent caps to Coalition leaders next Monday in advance of a likely Cabinet decision on the issue next week.
Asked about housing completions, which are low in the first three months of the year, he said the target for this year of 41,000 “was always going to be very challenging there is no question about that”.
“What we have is a situation where we have to accelerate supply. Whether it’s 41,000 or the target of 60,000 that we have to get to [over the lifetime of the Housing for All plan], we have to do some radical steps to make sure we get this very significant acceleration of housing supply.”
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He said there had to be greater investment from the private sector and international finance to get to the required level.
Mr Browne, who was speaking at the sod-turning ceremony for a social housing project in Cabra, said he had a report from the housing agency on the future of the Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs).
“What I want to do is ensure fairness in any decision that is made,” he said.
The Opposition has accused the Government of wanting to strip away protections offered to tenants by the rules, which limit rent increases in areas of rapid inflation to 2 per cent annually. The rules are due to expire at the end of the year.
Mr Browne has received a report which outlined how the rules could be extended in duration, scrapped entirely or varied – perhaps with a higher level of annual increase allowed to landlords.
“Renters are feeling somewhat frustrated and I want to allay those frustrations as quickly as possible,” he said.
The target under the Government’s housing for all plan for 2025 is 41,000.
He also said he was “very disappointed” to see that a row of houses owned by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), which represents builders, had collapsed in Ranelagh, Dublin, last week.
He said it was “completely unacceptable” to see dereliction and he said there was a need for greater leadership from the CIF.
