Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien has said he accepts that many people are not feeling the benefit of a property market which the Government claims has turned a corner.
Launching the Respond housing body’s annual report, Mr O’Brien said the housing market has turned a corner but he “certainly” accepts that people are yet to feel the benefit of this.
“I certainly accept that, what I’m reporting is that real significant progress has been made,” he said, adding that there was still “significant work to be done”.
According to its annual report, Respond is on track to triple the number of social and cost-rental homes it has in construction to more than 4,100 in the coming months, expanding its construction programme over the next 12 months to €2 billion.
Respond said it had 608 new social and affordable homes in construction in Dublin, and had delivered 208 new social and cost-rental homes across the county last year.
“I’m acutely aware, particularly for those who are renting, people paying rents way above the odds,” Mr O’Brien said, adding that he intends to increase and expand the Government’s rental tax credit, announced last year. “That’s why we brought in the renters’ tax credit in the budget last year. I want to see that increased and expanded in this year’s budget, that’s a real measure to help with a reduction in rental cost.
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“Fundamentally, there has been a continued problem in the private rental sector, we need to get more supply there,” he said.
“What I’m reporting on is progress, and progress is being made. Acutely aware that there are many yet who don’t feel that, and I get that too, and that’s why we need to redouble our efforts.”
During his address on Tuesday, Mr O’Brien said: “We’ve turned a corner on 10 or 12 years of undersupply. Last year we built just short of 30,000 new homes and I intend for us to do more this year, and I’m acutely aware that we do need to do more.”
Mr O’Brien promised “very significant developments” on projects with dormant planning permissions “that we’re going to be able to get started very soon”.
The Minister would not be drawn on the specific level of increase he would like to see in the renters’ tax credit, which he said has been drawn down by more than 230,000 renters. “I’m not going to get into what I want to see that be increased to,” he said, but added that renters were paying “above and beyond what many can afford”.
The Government would also focus on assisting people to buy their homes using the First Home Scheme.
Asked about those who are stuck living at home with their parents, he said people were feeling the effect of years of undersupply. “People are feeling that effect and that effect certainly in relation to not having the supply or the choice that people need, that’s something we’re turning the corner on.
“Things are far from perfect, I’m not disputing that for a moment,” he said, but argued that last year was a “decent start” which he said would be built on – and that he aimed to beat the Government’s housing targets this year. The targets are widely accepted to be an underestimate of the State’s actual housing need.
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When it comes to homelessness, he said he could not predict when the number of people in emergency accommodation would begin to fall. He said in the last quarter of this year and the first three months of 2023, more people exited emergency accommodation than had been done before, aided by what he said was a “ramping up” of social housing.
“I cannot give you a date when we’re going to see that reduce substantially,” he said, but argued that 19,000 social homes were in the pipeline at different stages. “That’s starting to make a difference,” he said.
Small landlords could expect assistance in the budget, he said, promising “efficient and effective measures for individual good landlords in this year’s budget”.
In a statement, Respond spokeswoman Niamh Randall said: “Our annual report details the ongoing effort and commitment of our development and housing teams to help alleviate the urgent need for more social and cost-rental housing across the country and to support the Government’s Housing for All strategy.
“Our focus is on adding to the national housing stock, and the fixed-price contracts we have agreed with several developers mean we could quickly triple the number of social and cost-rental homes we have in construction to 4,100 with Government support. These are large-scale development projects which will provide the volume of homes desperately needed, while also building inclusive, long-term sustainable communities.”
