Government on track to miss social and affordable housing targets for third year
The coalition is now on track to miss the social housing targets set out in its Housing for All Plan for the third year
Some 8,665 social houses will need to be delivered in the final three months of 2024 for the government to hit its target for the year.
The coalition is now on track to miss the social housing targets set out in its Housing for All Plan for the third year.
Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin told the Irish Mirror that there is "no hope in hell" that the targets will be met.
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Figures released by Darragh O’Brien’s Department of Housing on Friday show that the overall social housing target is 12,930 for 2024. This includes newly built homes, leasing and acquisition.
Up to the end of the third quarter of 2024, some 4,625 had been completed. This is just a third of what is needed to hit the target.
The government’s building target for social housing is 9,300 for 2024. Some 2,119 homes were completed in the first nine months of the year.
A note on the press release accompanying the figures argued that "it is important to note that, traditionally, the delivery of social housing accelerates throughout the year and the bulk of delivery is achieved in Q4".
It added: "Last year, over two-thirds of all new-build delivery occurred in the final three months of the year, and 2024 is on course to see a similar surge in the final quarter."
The target of leased social homes is 2,130. Just 850 had been secured by the end of September.
However, the government looks set to exceed its acquisition targets, having already acquired 1,296 homes out of a planned 1,500.
Separate figures published by the Department of Housing on Friday suggested that 3,555 Affordable Purchase homes have been bought up so far this year up to the end of September.
This includes those who utilised the First Home "bridge the gap" scheme (2,371), Local Authority Affordable Purchase schemes (471) and the Vacant Property Refurbishment grant (713).
However, the First Home Scheme figure includes instances where money has not been drawn down, Deputy Ó Broin pointed out. The actual figure for drawdown under the scheme is 1,118.
There were also 826 cost-rental homes delivered by the Land Development Agency or Approved Housing Bodies.
Mr Ó Broin stated that the actual figure for the number of affordable and cost-rental homes delivered up to the end of September is 2,415. The target for the year is 6,400.
He told the Irish Mirror that there is no "hope in hell" that the social or affordable housing targets will be met this year.
"Just 2,119 of the promised 9,300 new-build social homes were completed by the end of September," he said.
"Given that this is just 23 per cent of the target, it is hard to see how the remaining 77 per cent of units will be completed in just three months to December.
"Just 417 of the promised 2,000 affordable-purchase homes were completed by the end of September. Given that this is just 24 per cent of the target, it is also hard to see how the remaining 76 per cent of the units will be completed by the end of the year.
"The government's failure to meet their targets directly contributes to rising house prices, rising rents and rising homelessness."
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