New homes target of 24,600 to be ‘exceeded’ but social and affordable housing goals in doubt

The number of new homes built in 2022 is expected to exceed the Government’s target of 24,600 but questions remain as to whether delivery targets for social and affordable housing will be hit.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien brought the latest quarterly progress report on the Coalition’s Housing for All plan to Cabinet as well as an update on how it will be adapted to meet challenges like inflation in the cost of construction and soaring energy prices.

Mr Martin said the plan is working and “despite the unprecedented challenges arising from the war in Ukraine, we will exceed the target to deliver 24,600 new homes in 2022”.

However, it is unclear whether the homes built this year will include the full delivery of the 9,000 social homes and 4,100 affordable homes set out as the targets for those categories in 2022.

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Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin reacted to the update on Housing for All saying the social and affordable delivery targets were “never ambitious enough” and it is “worrying” that the numbers built so far this year have not been set out.

He said he was told by Mr O’Brien in a parliamentary question last month that just 425 affordable purchase homes and 490 cost-rental homes had been delivered.

He argued that the Government is “a very long way off the 13,100 social and affordable homes promised”.

A Department of Housing spokesman said that 2,858 social homes were delivered in the first half of 2022.

He added: “This is no indication of the full-year output as the second half of the year traditionally shows much stronger delivery of social housing than the first half of the year.”

There is said to be projects to build 8,247 social homes currently on-site.

Cost-rental projects

Affordable housing is to be delivered in a number of ways including the First Home Scheme, local authority affordable purchase schemes and cost-rental projects.

The department did not provide a figure for the number of affordable homes delivered so far this year but the spokesman said local authorities have begun collating information on the delivery numbers and the pipeline of affordable homes in their area.

The department expects will be in a position to begin reporting on affordable delivery in national quarterly statistics later this year.

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The spokesman said: “Again, delivery is typically weighted towards year end.”

The Cabinet was told that the target of 29,000 homes being delivered next year remains the same but there will be review of current targets and projections when official census 2022 data is available by mid-2023.

Cabinet was briefed on the “extraordinary challenges” that have arisen from the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis, construction cost inflation, pandemic-related stoppages and transport issues as a result of Brexit.

The annual review of Housing for All sets out how the Government is responding and the updated plan will, among other measures, seek to reduce the cost of construction, make the planning system more transparent and user-friendly, and increase the construction sector labour force.