I thank the Deputy very much for requesting an update on the review of the section 10 funding for homelessness services and the changes I intend to make to this funding stream. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a priority for the Government. I recognise the vital work of the NGO sector and its valuable contribution to the lives of those experiencing or at risk of homelessness. My Department regularly engages with the sector on all aspects of homeless policy, including funding arrangements. Significant progress has been made in addressing concerns raised within the NGO homelessness services sector about the adequacy of funding. A number of uplifts to cost-of-living increases have been agreed and applied to service level agreements over the past two and a half years, including pay increases on foot of negotiations at the Workplace Relations Commission. Last year, my Department conducted an internal review of the section 10 funding model, focusing on issues of governance and public expenditure oversight compliance. The final report of the review will be finalised in the coming weeks. In addition, a recent review conducted by the City and County Managers Association examined the funding provided to NGOs for homelessness services. The report was presented to the Department in March 2025 and I have asked officials to progress implementation of the recommendations, including costing of recommendations and consultation with stakeholders.
Sentiment score: 0.30
As the Deputy knows, efforts are ongoing to reduce the reliance on commercial hotels to accommodate families, with the preferred model being the provision of supported accommodation operated by NGO providers. The increasing numbers in emergency accommodation have led to increased pressures on housing authorities to provide sufficient accommodation. To increase provision, housing authorities are heavily reliant on private emergency accommodation. Capital funding of €25 million is being made available to housing authorities and NGOs for the delivery of high-quality, supported emergency accommodation for families and individuals experiencing homelessness.
Sentiment score: -0.03
I hear the Deputy saying he wants to trust the NGOs more but also to have more oversight of them. The NGOs here do phenomenally good work. We are providing record funding to address homelessness. What we want to do, though, is to prevent homelessness occurring in the first place and that is why we are making rapid decisions to significantly increase the supply of housing right across the country. Until we can address the homelessness situation, however, we will continue to support the NGOs and the local authorities to provide the housing needed for people who find themselves in need of emergency accommodation. We do not want to be relying on the private sector but the accommodation is simply not there now. The most important thing is that people have the emergency accommodation they need when they need it, and that is what we are doing.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I thank the Deputy for asking this question in relation to an update on the Government's housing plan. The programme for Government commits to the introduction of a new all-of-government national housing plan to follow Housing for All, underpinned by multi-annual funding. Work is well under way in my Department on the development of this new housing plan. A programme of targeted stakeholder engagement has been undertaken. Written submissions have been received from across government and from a range of external stakeholders, including State agencies, the community and voluntary sector and industry and academics. These submissions are being carefully considered and I have also met with many stakeholders to hear at first hand what actions they think should be reflected in the plan. I am committed to its finalisation and publication as soon as possible. It is essential, however, that this plan align with the timing of the outcome of the national development plan review process being undertaken by my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Sector Reform and Digitalisation. This will allow for the plan to be underpinned by the required multi-annual funding across not just my Department but across government. This will ensure a whole-of-government approach that tackles the challenges we are facing to support people who are experiencing homelessness or trying to access a home to buy or rent. In the meantime, as Minister, I remain focused on ensuring that we bring forward urgently every measure possible to support housing delivery in the short term and to place us on a longer-term sustainable pathway that will meet the housing needs of all our people and communities.
Sentiment score: 0.32
We are engaging with all the stakeholders regarding our new housing plan. The housing plan will follow the NDP. When that is finalised, the NDP will clearly set out the funding available for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and other Departments that are key in delivering the infrastructure we need to deliver the housing we need. It is in that context that the housing plan will be developed. We have already taken significant measures. We are not waiting for the housing plan to start taking the measures we need to take. We have already agreed to preserve the existing planning permissions for properties that may be about expire. We have established housing activation offices and increased the powers of the LDA. In the autumn, we will have a clear suite of planning exemptions to free up the time of our planners. We have also established An Coimisiún Pleanála. This week, there was further agreement to minimise the workload of local authorities by reducing the four-stage process for delivering social housing down to a single stage.
Sentiment score: 0.24
The vast majority of the Act will be commenced by the end of this year. We have already started to commence it with the commencement of the urban development zone sections and the establishment of An Coimisiún Pleanála. The State is delivering approximately 50% of all housing solutions, including from the private sector Part V. Our ambition is to continue delivering as much social and affordable housing as can be delivered by the State. We really believe in the delivery of social and affordable housing but if we want to get housing delivery for this country, we have to activate the private sector and that is why we are engaging with many decisions to not only facilitate the quicker delivery of social and affordable housing but also activate the private sector so we can get up to the delivery of 50,000 or 60,000 homes per year, which is what we need to do so that everybody has the housing solution that they need and can afford.
Sentiment score: 0.23
It is the clear focus of this Government to increase the supply of new build social and affordable homes. As such, the decision not to proceed with the contract award for bundle 3 was not taken lightly and was made after much careful consideration of the costs involved and is ultimately the correct decision. I cannot comment on or discuss the tendered costs for PPP bundle 3 as these numbers are part of the preferred tenderer's tender submission covered by confidentially clauses in the procurement documents and are commercially sensitive. The costs for the earlier completed PPP bundles 1 and 2 will be released in the coming months as part of the public sector benchmark process. However, I assure the Deputy that my Department, the National Development Finance Agency and the relevant local authorities remain fully committed to delivering the social housing that PPP bundle 3 was designed to provide. These 486 social homes are very much needed and remain a priority for all parties and will instead be delivered by way of an alternative procurement and delivery strategy. I wish to highlight that the investments already made in preliminary design work and securing planning consent is not lost and will in fact facilitate delivery of the 486 homes as expeditiously as possible under a new procurement and delivery strategy. All six sites in PPP bundle 3 have full planning permission and my officials, in conjunction with the stakeholders, will now consider and agree alternative procurement and delivery strategies for these homes. There are three sites from PPP bundle 3 with a potential of 244 social housing homes in Dublin City Council area ready for tendering though a design and build construction programme and my Department are working closely with DCC and the NDFA to advance these tenders immediately. I want our largest local authority, Dublin City Council, to bring forward new social housing projects on its own land using the various new-build funding schemes including design and build construction projects using the social housing investment programme. In recent years, DCC has had very low delivery rates on its own land, with 177 units delivered in 2022, 323 in 2023 and only 35 completed in 2024. As part of this decision the officials in my Department will initiate, in collaboration with the NDFA, a review of PPP bundles 4 to 7.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I understand people’s upset and frustration. My duty is to deliver the maximum number of homes we can but that means maximising the value so we can maximise the delivery of those homes. I will not blindly sign off at any price for social homes. These homes were frankly at an astronomical price. No doubt had I signed off on them, I would be before the Committee of Public Accounts answering questions on how I could justify approving this kind of costing for social housing units. We will deliver those social housing units as quickly as possible because I want those homes delivered. However, the PPP model is not the only opportunity for Dublin City Council to deliver social homes. I welcome more applications from DCC to be able to deliver as many social homes as possible in the city.
Sentiment score: -0.07
It is not the end of PPP but we will review the processes to see how we can ensure that when the PPP process is used, there is value for money for the delivery of homes. We will use every method available to maximise the delivery of social homes. We will do that and we will continue to review it. We will deliver these homes as quickly as we can. We are reviewing the entire situation. On value for money tests, one was carried out by myself. I looked at it as a Minister, as I should when it arrives on my desk. It was an outrageous cost to deliver these homes, which I was not going to stand over, and I decided this was not the way to do it or to approve it.
Sentiment score: 0.08
Cost rental is a key element of the Housing For All strategy to improve affordability in the rental sector and to provide secure, long-term homes for moderate-income households. Though it was only introduced in 2021, cost-rental delivery is accelerating, with over 3,600 homes delivered by the end of 2024 and a substantial pipeline is now in place. My Department is providing significant funding to delivery partners for cost rental. As well as making delivery viable, this State funding drives down rents. All cost-rental projects must achieve cost-covering rents that are at least 25% below comparable market levels. All cost-rental homes therefore present a significant saving to the tenant, relative to new market rental properties. Cost rents are different depending on the size of dwelling and location as these have different capital costs. As rents for cost-rental homes are set according to the actual costs of delivering, managing, and maintaining the homes, recent inflation in costs has proven challenging. All delivery partners are actively managing costs to ensure that these new homes are provided at the best rent possible. For example, last week I attended the launch of the new cost-rental homes being provided by South Dublin County Council with the support of just under €20 million from my Department at Innovation Square, Tallaght, with rents starting at €950 per month. Cost-rental units provide a significant saving for the tenant, and tenants who benefit from cost-rental homes are very appreciative of the rents and security of tenure these homes provide.
Sentiment score: 0.37
I thank the Deputy. As he is fully aware, the cost-rental scheme did not exist in 2020 and that is why no units were delivered. On cost rental, some people cannot afford those rents and that is why we are providing a number of different solutions for people in order for them to access the homes they need at an affordable price. That may be purchase or rent and may involve cost rental, affordable purchase or social housing. We are trying to ensure that everybody, at whatever income level, has housing available to them. We are doing that across the system. The number of cost-rental units has increased over the past number of years. It is an important measure, albeit only one, of Housing for All and delivering the housing we need for people across the country, whatever their needs may be.
Sentiment score: 0.16
Last week, we extended rent pressure zones across the entire country, effectively creating a national rent control, which the Deputy voted for. In terms of the 25% before market-----
Sentiment score: 0.22
The Deputy supported it.
Sentiment score: 0.32
Did the Deputy oppose it then?
Sentiment score: 0.00
We are in a housing crisis. Coming in here and being snide is not the solution. If the Deputy will let me give the answer-----
Sentiment score: -0.29
The Deputy supported it.
Sentiment score: 0.32
I clarified what the Deputy said. We did come in here. I will deal with the Deputy's question rather than shouting over him.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Cost rental is only one measure, as I have already outlined.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We are putting measures in place in order that everybody has the solution they need. Ultimately, we have to increase the supply of housing across the country. That is the only way we will address homelessness, high rents and ensure that people get the homes they need. We have gone from 20,000 to 30,000 homes. We will make the next step change. That is why we made rapid decisions over the past number of months and will do so again over the next few months. Rather than coming in here and criticising everything we do, perhaps the Deputy could come up with a few solutions.
Sentiment score: 0.12
Cost rental is only one measure, as I have already outlined.
Sentiment score: 0.00